Malala Yousafzai became famous in 2012 when the Taliban shot her in the head when she was 15. The reason for the attack was her human rights advocacy and support for education.
She is now and always has been an activist for female education. When she was around 12 years old, she wrote a blog under a pseudonym for BBC Urdu detailing her life after the Taliban occupied her home in Swat Valley, in northwestern Pakistan.
When she was shot, the schoolgirl was airlifted to a military hospital and underwent a five-hour operation to remove the bullet. The Pakistani government later paid to transport the courageous teen to a hospital in England, where Malala received further treatment and rehabilitation.
Shortly after her recovery, Malala and her dad Ziauddin founded the Malala Fund – a non-profit organization that advocates for girls' education. The organization aims to ensure 12 years of free, safe, and quality education for every girl on the planet.
The first contribution to the Malala Fund came from Angelina Jolie, who donated $200,000 to fund girls' education in Swat Valley. Since 2013, Malala has written 3 books and also became the world’s youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
Last year, at the age of 22, she graduated from Oxford’s Lady Margaret Hall College with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. Since then, she has been able to focus more of her time to continue her campaign, and to promote the Malala Fund and put proceeds to good use.
After recent events, this work will no doubt be more important than ever. She recently appeared on the BBC saying US President Joe Biden "has a lot to do" and must "take a bold step" to protect the Afghan people.