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Malala Yousafzai Fast Facts

CNN Editorial Research

Here’s a look at the life of education activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Malala Yousafzai.

Personal

Birth date: July 12, 1997

Birth place: Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan

Father: Ziauddin Yousafzai, educator and activist

Mother: Toorpekai Yousafzai

Marriage: Asser Malik (2021-present)

Education: Oxford University, 2020, Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Other Facts

The youngest recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize.

Her name means “grief stricken.”

An asteroid, 2010 ML48, was officially named “316201 Malala” after her.

Timeline

September 1, 2008 – At a local press club in Peshawar, Yousafzai gives her first speech, “How Dare the Taliban Take Away my Basic Right to Education?” in protest of school closings.

January-March 2009 – Yousafzai, using the pen name Gul Makai, blogs for the BBC about her life under Taliban rule.

2009 – Is the subject of a New York Times documentary, “Class Dismissed,” by Adam B. Ellick.

November 24, 2011 – Yousafzai is awarded Pakistan’s first national peace prize.

October 9, 2012 – In an assassination attempt, Yousafzai is shot in the head by Taliban gunmen. The attack takes place when Yousafzai is riding a bus on her way home from school; two other girls are injured.

October 15, 2012 – Yousafzai is airlifted from Pakistan to England in order to be treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham.

February 3, 2013 – Undergoes her last surgery after being shot in the head.

February 8, 2013 – Yousafzai is released from Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

March 19, 2013 – Returns to school attending Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham, England.

April 2013 – The Malala Fund is established, which helps to provide grants for the education of girls.

April 18, 2013 – Is listed as one of Time’s Most Influential People of the year.

July 12, 2013 – Addresses the United Nations in New York. This is her first formal public speech since her attack.

September 6, 2013 – Is awarded the International Children’s Peace Prize.

October 2013 Receives an Honorary Master of Arts from The University of Edinburgh.

October 2013 – The Malala Fund Organization is founded.

October 8, 2013 – Her autobiography written with Christina Brown, “I Am Malala,” is published.

November 20, 2013 – Receives the Sakharov Prize for her bravery against the Taliban.

December 10, 2013 – Yousafzai is awarded the United Nations Human Rights Prize, an award that is only given every five years.

April 15, 2014 – Receives an honorary doctorate of civil law from University of King’s College.

July 14, 2014 – Yousafzai appeals to Boko Haram militants to “stop misusing the name of Islam.”

September 12, 2014 – 10 people are arrested for the attempted murder of Yousafzai.

October 10, 2014 – Is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly with Kailash Satyarthi for activism on behalf of children’s rights.

October 13, 2014 – Is listed as one of Time’s 25 Most Influential Teens.

October 21, 2014 – The House of Commons unanimously votes to make Yousafzai an honorary Canadian citizen.

June 5, 2015 – It is announced that two people have been sentenced to life in prison for the 2012 attack on Yousafzai. Eight other suspects have been acquitted.

April 10, 2017 – Is designated a UN Messenger of Peace.

August 17, 2017 – Announces she has been accepted to study at the University of Oxford.

March 29, 2018 – Yousafzai returns to Pakistan for the first time since she was attacked by Taliban militants.

January 8, 2019 – Her book, “We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories From Refugee Girls Around the World,” is published.

June 19, 2020 – Yousafzai announces that she has completed her Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree at Oxford University.

March 8, 2021 – Apple announces a multi-year partnership with Yousafzai and her production company, Extracurricular, to create original programming for AppleTV+.

June 2, 2021 – Yousafzai is unveiled as the cover star for the July issue of British Vogue. In an accompanying profile, Yousafzai opens up about her faith, Twitter activism and her new partnership with AppleTV+.

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