Claire Throp - Malala Yousafzai

Aretha, David. Malala Yousafzai and the Girls of Pakistan (Out in Front). Greensboro,N.C.: Morgan Reynolds, 2014.

Doeden, Matt. Malala Yousafzai: Shot by the Taliban, Still Fighting for Equal Education (Gateway Biography). Minneapolis: Lerner, 2015.

Rowell, Rebecca. Malala Yousafzai: Education Activist (Essential Lives). Minneapolis:ABDO, 2014.

Yousafzai, Malala, with Patricia McCormick. I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood up forEducation and Was Shot by the Taliban. New York: Little, Brown, 2014.

www.freethechildren.com
This is the web site for one of the charities that Malala Yousafzai supports.

www.malala.org
This is the web site for the Malala Fund.

poy.time.com/2012/12/19/interactive-timeline-malala-yousafzai
This web site has a timeline of Malala Yousafzais life up to the end of 2012.

• Try to find out more about the history of Pakistan, particularly the area where MalalaYousafzai was born.
• Learn as much as you can about Islam. What are the Five Pillars?
• What does the Malala Fund do? Research other groups that aim to help empower girlsaround the world.
• See if you can find out more about the different awards that Malala Yousafzai haswon.

Malala Yousafzai is the girl who spoke out about the difficulties girls face gettingan education in Pakistan, the country where she was born and where she lived at thetime. She put her life in danger for this. Her efforts were so heroic that she isnow a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Life was difficult for many women in the Swat District, where Malala Yousafzai wasborn. They had very little freedom, with rules about where they could go and withwhom, and even what they should wear. A Muslim (see pages 89) was powerful in the area and enforced these rules. In January 2009,it said that girls should not be allowed to go to school.

I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard. Those who havefought for their rights. Their right to live in peace. Their right to be treatedwith dignity. Their right to of opportunity. Their right to be educated.

Malala Yousafzai, speaking at the in New York City, July 12, 2013

THE PASHTUN PEOPLE

Malala Yousafzai and her family are Pashtuns. Pashtuns are a group of people wholive in northwest Pakistan and southeast Afghanistan. They speak their own language,called Pashto. More Pashtun people live in Pakistan than Afghanistan. It is thoughtthat Pashtuns moved to Pakistan between the 13th and 16th centuries.

Becoming a target

Malala Yousafzai wasnt afraid to speak out. As a result of the attention that shegained, she became a target for the Taliban. When her family received threats fromthe Taliban, Malala Yousafzai started traveling to school by bus instead of walking.On October 9, 2012, she was shot in the head by the Taliban on the way home fromschool. Amazingly, she survived.

Malala Yousafzai has worked hard to improve childrens education around the world.

What Is Pakistan Like?

Pakistan is a country in southern Asia. Pakistan was created after World War II (19391945),in 1947, when the country of India was divided to provide Indian Muslims with a countryof their own. At first, there were two parts: east and west. In 1971, the east split off and became Bangladesh. An area called Kashmir has causedproblems between Pakistan and India ever since. Wars have been fought over whichcountry the area belongs to.

This map shows the main cities and towns in Pakistan.

Landscape

In the north and northwest of Pakistan, one of the worlds highest mountain rangescan be foundthe Karakoram Range. K2, the worlds second-highest mountain, is alsoin Pakistan. Baltoro Glacier, one of the worlds longest glaciers (a very slow-movingriver of ice), is also in Pakistan. There are areas of very flat land, such as theIndus plain in the east and the Balochistan plateau in the west.

Swat District, where Malala Yousafzai was born, is in the north of Pakistan, closeto the border with Afghanistan. Swat is a long, thin valley, with other smaller valleysbranching off it. At one end is Spin Ghar, which means "White Mountain." A mountaincalled Tor Ghar ("Black Mountain") is at the opposite end of the valley.

Snow and water from the mountains and glaciers flow down to the Swat River.

PAKISTAN FACT FILE

• Country name: Islamic Republic of Pakistan
• Population: 196 million (2014)
• Capital city: Islamabad
• Main languages: Punjabi, Sindhi, English, Pashto, , Balochi
• Main religion: Islam

Religion

Islam is the second-largest religion in the world, and its followers are known asMuslims. Malala Yousafzai and her family are Muslims. Muslims believe in one god,called Allah. They believe Allah sent menknown as prophetsto teach people how tolive by his law. The final prophet was Muhammad. The Muslims holy book is calledthe Quran and is believed to be Allahs words as revealed to Muhammad.

MUSLIMS IN PAKISTAN

Pakistan has the third-largest number of Muslims of any country. Over 96 percentof Pakistanis are Muslim.