Malala Yousafzai Nobel Peace Prize Winner and Education Activist
5 CHAPTER ONE Like kids across the world students in the Swat Valley crowd onto buses to get to school October 9 2012 began like any other day for Malala Yousafzai a 15-year-old girl living in Swat Pakistan She woke up and went to school She took an exam that day and thought she did well She was happy as she began her ride home She sat in the rear near the open back of the truck that served as a school bus Malala was chatting with her friends about the exam when they noticed two NO ORDINARY DAY
The Taliban The majority of Pakistan’s people are Muslim Muslim people follow the religion of Islam The Taliban is a small group of Muslim people who believe in an extreme interpretation of the Islamic system of laws called Sharia The Taliban are extraordinarily conservative believing that women and girls should not work go to school or even drive cars 6 young men standing in the road The men waved at the bus to stop it and one of them approached the driver The other man came around to the back of the truck One of Malala’s friends suggested they might be journalists Perhaps they were there to talk to Malala Ever since it had been revealed that Malala was the author of a popular blog she had been interviewed by many journalists On her blog Malala had spoken up about the right of all girls to have an education The Swat Valley had been controlled by a group called the Taliban as recently as three years earlier The Taliban did not believe in educating girls They believed that girls and women belonged
School in Pakistan The school that Malala attended was only for girls This is common in Pakistan where unmarried girls are not supposed to have contact with unrelated boys The Swat Valley where Malala lived is especially conservative 7 at home taking care of their families Speaking out against the Taliban was a dangerous thing to do Malala looked around and noticed how quiet the street was She wondered where all the people were and why a journalist would approach her on the bus The man jumped onto the rear bumper of the bus and stared inside Who is Malala he shouted No one answered Who is Malala he shouted again None of the girls answered but their eyes turned to look at Malala She was the only one not wearing a veil over her face Before Malala could say anything the man raised a gun and fired it several times He shot Malala and two nearby friends at close range
