Hyderabad: The United Nations, in 2013, designated Malala Yousafzai's birthday (June 12) as 'Malala Day' in honour of the Pakistani child activist who has been a prominent figure of female education in her country since her early teens.
Malala Yousafzai, daughter of Ziauddin and Tor Pekai Yousafzai, was born on July 12, 1997, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province of Pakistan. She was shot in the head and neck by Tehrik-i-Taliban on October 9, 2012, while she was returning home from school with her friends, for standing up for girls' right to education and speaking against the Taliban.
In 2009, Malala had begun writing a blog titled 'I am afraid' under a pseudonym about the increasing military activity in her home town and about fears that her school would be attacked.
Soon after the Taliban attack, an undeterred Malala became an international symbol for the rights of girls' education with more fierce in her views than before and continued her advocacy for gender rights.
On July 12, 2013, Malala delivered an impassioned speech at the UN headquarters on the need for gender equality in education. Her address received several rounds of standing ovations, and the was soon declared by the UN as 'Malala Day'.
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In 2014, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts for children's rights which started even before she was shot in the head two years ago by Taliban militants.
In 2019, the UN declared Pakistani education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai as the most famous teenager in the world in its 'Decade in Review' report.
In part one of its review series which takes into account events that happened between 2010 and the end of 2013, the UN highlighted the devastating Haiti earthquake in 2010, the beginning of the ongoing Syrian conflict for 2011 and Malala's work in favour of girls' education for the year 2012.
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"The attack made waves around the world and was widely condemned. On Human Rights Day that year, a special tribute to Malala was held at the Paris headquarters of UNESCO pushing for action to ensure every girl's right to go to school, and to advance girls' education as an urgent priority," the UN wrote in the review report.
"Malala's activism and profile have only grown since the assassination attempt. She became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017 with a special focus on girls' education," it added.
The 23-year-old was also chosen by Teen Vogue in 2019 as its cover person for its last issue of the decade. The magazine announced it had decided to reflect the last 10 years with the education activist.
She founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation, and in 2013 co-authored 'I am Malala', an international bestseller. She has continued to speak out on the importance of education.
Recently, she celebrated her graduation from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
