“So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism, and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.”

--Malala Yousefzai

Malala Yousafzai garnered the world’s attention on October 9, 2012 when she was shot in the head by a masked taliban gunman on her bus ride home from school. Malala was born on July 12, 1997 and grew up in Mingora, Pakistan where her father ran a school. The taliban began to take control of the area in her early childhood and by 2009 she was writing for BBC under the pseudonym of Gul Makai about her life and threatened education as the taliban continued to strengthen its grasp on the region. In 2009 she was also the subject of a documentary entitled “Class Dismissed” by Adam B. Ellick. By 2011, at just fourteen years old Malala received Pakistan's first National Peace Prize due to her educational activism. It wasn’t until February 8, 2013--3 months and 29 days after her attack--that Malala was released from Queen Elizabeth Hospital in England where she currently resides with her family. Yet Malala refused to stop or slow down her progress; She returned to school in March and by April she established the Malala Fund which works to finance girls education and is also listed in Time’s 100 most influential people. Over the next couple of years she is awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize, Sakharov Prize, United Nations Human Rights Prize, an honorary doctorate in Civil Law from University of King’s College, the Nobel Peace Prize, is listed as one of Time’s top 25 Most Influential Teens, and is even granted honorary Canadian Citizenship.

She continues her work today with the Malala Fund Organization, the United Nations and despite continued death threats she has strong aspirations to be the Pakistan Prime Minister. At a conference in October of this year in the United Arab Emirates Malala stated that “But when I saw women role models, it broadened my vision. I saw Benazir Bhutto as a woman leader [who was] twice the prime minister of Pakistan. I heard about women athletes, women astronauts, women artists, women entrepreneurs … It allowed me to recognise the potential that I had, and that I can have as a woman, to achieve anything in my life. And my dream changed from becoming a doctor to becoming the prime minister of Pakistan, [for] fixing all the issues in bringing education [to all].” Throughout her life she has been outspoken about the importance of worldwide educational opportunities for girls everywhere but has also asked terrorist groups like Boko Haram’s militants to stop ‘misusing Islam” after their continued abductions of schoolgirls and horrific regime. She speaks willingly and openly about all of the world’s most difficult issues with poise and wisdom far beyond her own years.

Her messages of hope, nonviolence, equality and change echo the historic speeches of Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In an interview about the UK Burqa controversy she stated, “I believe it's a woman's right to decide what she wants to wear and if a woman can go to the beach and wear nothing, then why can't she also wear everything?” Her work continues to change lives and inspire each and everyone of us. She has told the world, “I do not want to be remembered as the ‘girl who was shot by the Taliban’ but the ‘girl who fought for education.’ This is the cause for which I want to devote my life.”Malala Yousafzai stands as a pinnacle of strength, bravery and empowerment. She inspires not just me but the world with words full of ambition and peace: “I raise up my voice not so I can shout, but so those without a voice can be heard. We cannot succeed when half of us are held back.” Do not let Malala be diminished to someone who was shot by the Taliban, but let her voice ring in your ears as a reminder of the power of words. Remember that the best is not behind us and if we as a global community can help people like Malala Yousafzai achieve aims like global education then a true sense of world peace is achievable. Let her words spread love and not hate, let them inspire global initiatives for education equality, let Malala achieve all that she can. Remind yourself that people like Malala do exist to not only create progress and hope but as a demonstration that there remains light in our sometimes dark world.