Malala Yousafzai

Hello! My name is Malala Yousafzai, and I want to share my story with you. I was born on July 12th, 1997, in a beautiful place called Swat Valley in Pakistan. It was a land of tall mountains, green fields, and sparkling rivers. I lived with my mother, my father, and my two younger brothers. My father, Ziauddin, was a teacher and my hero. He believed that everyone, especially girls, deserved to go to school. He even started his own school, and I loved being one of his students. Learning new things felt like a superpower! I would dream of becoming a doctor or an inventor, and school was the first step to making those dreams come true. I loved the smell of new books and the happy sound of my friends laughing in the schoolyard.

But one day, a shadow fell over my beautiful valley. A group called the Taliban came and said that girls were no longer allowed to go to school. They said we should stay home. They took away music, dancing, and our colorful kites. My heart felt heavy and sad. How could they take away my dream? My father and I knew this was wrong. I was only 11 years old, but I had a voice, and I wanted to use it. I started writing a secret diary online for a big news company called the BBC. I used a different name, Gul Makai, to stay safe. In my diary, I wrote about my love for learning and my fear that my school would be closed forever. Soon, I started speaking in public, telling everyone who would listen that girls have a right to an education.

Using my voice was risky. The Taliban did not like that I was speaking out. On October 9th, 2012, I was on the school bus with my friends, laughing and chatting about our day. Suddenly, the bus stopped. A man came on board and hurt me very badly. He wanted to silence me forever. The next thing I remember is waking up in a hospital far away, in a city called Birmingham in England. My head hurt, but I was alive. My family was there with me. People from all over the world had sent me cards and prayed for me. Their kindness felt like a warm blanket. They didn't want my voice to be silenced either.

The men who tried to silence me failed. In fact, they made my voice louder than ever before! With my father, I started the Malala Fund, a charity to help girls all over the world get the education they deserve. I traveled and spoke to world leaders, reminding them of their promise to help all children. In 2014, I was given a very special award called the Nobel Peace Prize. I was the youngest person ever to receive it! It showed me that even a young person can make a big difference. My journey has taught me that one child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. So never be afraid to use your voice to stand up for what is right. Your voice is your power.