2010-19: UN highlights Malala Yousafzai's work in favour of girls education

Youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate continues to shine bright

Pakistan-born Malala Yousafzai made it to the United Nations’ biggest stories that came out in the last decade.

The youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate continues to inspire many through her survival of the Taliban attack and the determination with which she pushes for girls’ education.

In its three-part decade review, UN News singles out Malala’s work “in favour of girls’ education” among issues such as “the creation of what has now become the world’s most dangerous UN mission in Mali, and the beginning of the ongoing Syrian conflict.

“From a young age, Pakistani student Malala Yousafzai was known for speaking out in favour of the education of girls, and highlighting the atrocities of Taliban,” states UN News.

“She was born and brought up in the volatile Swat Valley, in the northwest of the country, and came to prominence in 2010, when she featured in a New York Times documentary about her life in the region, as the Pakistani military entered the region and clashed with Taliban fighters.”

“Whilst taking the bus home from school, in October 2012, Malala, and two other girls, were shot by a Taliban gunman: she was hit in the head by a bullet, but survived and eventually recovered,” the UN News recalls the attack.

"The attack made waves around the world, and was widely condemned: on Human Rights Day that year, a special tribute to Malala was held at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), pushing for action to ensure every girl’s right to go to school, and to advance girls’ education as an urgent priority."

“Malala’s activism and profile have only grown since the assassination attempt,” it continues. “She won several high-profile awards, including the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize (alongside Indian social reformer Kailash Satyarthi), and became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017, with a special focus on girls’ education.”