What Actions Did Malala Take And Why?
In 2007, the Taliban started taking control of the entire village. They had very strict religious rules, limits on women's rights, harsh public beatings like stoning and they killed anyone who didn't follow their rules. In January 2009 the Taliban declared a ban of all education for females but Malala said "They cannot stop me, I will get my education if it is in home, school or any other place." She wanted the right for education. At that time she was writing a diary named 'Gul Makai' . She wrote about the circumstances going on in Swat Valley in her diary. Later on she appeared on many TV channels and her articles and statements started getting published by many local and international newspapers. Malala also wrote a blog about life under the Taliban rule for BBC. As her blog became more and more popular on BBC the Pakistani military began to take interest in defending the village. Because of the courage Malala had to write the blog, the Pakistani military came to the valley to destroy the Taliban forces in the summer of 2009, but unfortunately they failed to do so. After Malala's experience with blogging she started noticing the importance of her voice. She knew that if her and her friends wanted a proper education she had to do something about the Taliban. With amazing courage and persistence she began to do what many adults were afraid to do, speak in front of the public for the rights of children and the rights of girls to get an education. She returned to school and organised a protest against the ban on education for girls. Malala went with her father and other community leaders to meet with the American representative to talk about their case. In 2011 even though the Taliban publicly threatened Malala, it didn't stop her from achieving her goal. She confidently spoke out to the public and on TV about the Taliban threatening the women in the region and especially about them being against women's education. She was also head of a children's assembly which was hosted by UNICEF. Because of her courageous efforts and risks, Malala was nominated for the 2011 international Children's Peace Prize. She also received Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize. The European Parliament also gave her the prize for freedom of thought. Malala didn't let the praises get to her head. She continued to put in all her effort to gain her and others rights. Malala also began to organise plans to launch an organisation to find ways for poor girls to achieve their educational dreams. In the months that followed, a lot of community leaders started to be targeted, assaulted or killed by the Taliban. Malala's family worried if Malala would be in danger because of all the publicity she was getting, but Malala told them not to worry cause she assumed that grown men would never harm a young girl but she was wrong about that.