International Malala Day: All You Need to Know about Young Activist Malala Yousafzai

International Malala Day

International Malala Day is celebrated in the honor of celebrating the birthday of young activist Malala Yousafzai on the 12th of July. On her 16th birthday, she gave an iconic speech on the rights and education of women at the United Nations headquarters and after that, this day is observed to remember her contribution to appealing the world leaders to ensure compulsory and free education for girls. She started her speech by quoting “Malala Day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy, and every girl who has raised their voice for their rights.”

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Who was Malala Yousafzai?

Malala Yousafzai was born on 12th July 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. In 2008, she started publicly advocating for the rights of women’s education. She was fully aware of the law that the Pakistani Taliban enacted which doesn’t allow girls to go to school. Malala continued to advocate for women’s rights and social work. She even highlighted how life was under the control of the Taliban.

Malala Yousafzai: Why Malala Day is celebrated

The UN has declared 12th July as Malala Day to celebrate the birthday of Malala Yousafzai. This day is celebrated in the honor of Malala to appeal to the world leaders to ensure women’s rights and free education. She was a young girl when she started calling out the Pakistani Taliban law which banned girls from going to school. It was a very courageous decision because she was almost killed for standing up against the Pakistani Taliban.

Malala Yousafzai: Awards

As a young activist, Malala received prestigious awards worldwide. A few of the awards are listed below.

1. National Youth Peace Prize in 2011
2. Mother Teresa Awards for social justice in 2012
3. International Children’s Peace Prize nominee for the first time in 2011.
4. Simone de Beauvoir Prize in 2013
5. Pride of Britain in 2013
6. Nobel peace prize 2014
7. International Children’s Peace Prize 2013
8. Anne Frank Award for Moral Courage in 2012.
9. One of Time’s 100 most influential people in the world 2013.
10. Honorary Life Membership by the PSEU (Ireland) 2014.

FAQs related to International Malala Day

1. Who is Malala Yousafzai?
Ans. Malala Yousafzai was a young woman who has worked actively for female education since a young age.

2. Why was Malala not allowed to go to school?
Ans. Malala Yousafzai was not allowed to go to school as she was born in Pakistan where the Pakistani Taliban had banned girl education. Malala opposed this idea from a very young age and publically advocated for the right to education for girls in Pakistan.

3. What is Malala Yousafzai’s UN speech about?
Ans. Malala Yousafzai gave her UN speech on her 16th birthday, 12th July 2013. Her speech was about women’s rights and education.

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