World Malala Day: 12 July

The United Nations has declared 12th July as World Malala Day to honour the young activist, Malala Yousafzai. Malala Day is commemorated, the birthday of Malala Yousafzai to honour women and children’s rights around the world.

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On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen after she publicly advocated for the education of girls. Despite the attack, Malala soon returned to the public eye, fiercer in her views than earlier and continued her advocacy for gender rights. She founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation to help young girls go to school and also co-authored a book titled “I Am Malala”, an international bestseller.

Malala has been felicitated with several awards and honours:

In 2012, she was awarded the first-ever National Youth Peace Prize by the Pakistan government.
In 2014, at age 17, She became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts for children’s rights which had begun even before she was shot.
The UN has declared her as “the most famous teenager in the world” in its Decade in Review report in late 2019.
Malala has also been awarded honorary Canadian citizenship and became the youngest person to address the House of Commons in Canada.
The documentary on the activist, He Named Me Malala, was shortlisted for the Oscars in 2015.
She has also authored another book titled We Are Displaced that chronicles her experiences of travelling the world and visiting refugee camps.