Gul Makai turns 19 today as the world celebrates ‘Malala Day’
- By Web Desk -
- Jul 12, 2016
Today is Malala Day…a day that stresses on educating girls no matter what the circumstance may be.
On this day, Malala wants to remind the world that they have promised 12 years of education to all girls, everywhere. The hashtag #YesAllGirls has been already trending on the social media website Twitter.
July 12 was declared ‘Malala Day’ by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in 2013 to commemorate Yousafzai’s 16th birthday.
The pride of Pakistan and the youngest Nobel Prize winner delivered a passionate speech at the UN calling access to education for all.
She made it a point during her speech that ‘Malala Day’ is “not my day,” but the “day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised a voice for their rights.”
Since 2013, Yousafzai has been campaigning for girls’ education around the world on her birthday, even going to locations where girls face the toughest hurdles to education.
Thousands of messages poured in from across the world on Malala Day and Yousafzai’s birthday.
Happy Birthday To The Brave Girl On The Planet #MalalaYousafzai,Nation Prouds On You!@ZiauddinY pic.twitter.com/SlmHefJpAK
— Abbas Toorie (@ToorieAbbas) July 12, 2016
And only a mother can make a daughter on her birthday. Toor Pekai, Malala’s proud mother wishes her birthday with a poem, shared by her father Ziauddin Yousafzai on Twitter.
The most beautiful poetry is a mother’s lull to her baby. Toor Pekai wishes Malala her birthday with her poem. pic.twitter.com/X1VVGCH6Gq
— Ziauddin Yousafzai (@ZiauddinY) July 12, 2016
UN Women wished Malala Yousafzai thanked the Swati girl for the support she has been showing for girls’ education.
Happy Birthday,Malala! Thank you for advocating for girls’ education https://t.co/HHBaRDNExl #MalalaDay #YesAllGirls pic.twitter.com/hvsUywiIvo
— UN Women (@UN_Women) July 12, 2016
“Girls want you to know they are ambitious for their lives. you must be too”
-Malala✨💙
#YesAllGirls— لينا جستنية (@LenaJastaniah) July 8, 2016
Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, daughter of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto Zardari also wished Gul Makai on her birthday.
Happy birthday to my sister #Malala @ZiauddinY May you continue to make #Pakistan proud
— Aseefa B Zardari (@AseefaBZ) July 11, 2016
Profile: Malala Yousafzai
Born to a Pashtun family on 12 July 1997, Yousafzai was born in Mingora, a town of the war-hit Swat valley. Her father named her after Malalai a Pashtun heroine.
By 2009, Yousafzai became an education activist in Pakistan. She rose to fame after she started writing for BBC Urdu with the pen name of Gul Makai.
She once even condemned Taliban insurgency in Swat and pledged to continue getting an education in a televised interview.
In 2011, Yousafzai became the first Pakistani ever to get National Youth Peace Prize and was even nominated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the International Children’s Peace Prize.
The Taliban were annoyed with her attitude and growing popularity.
She was shot in the head in October 2012 by a Taliban gunman and her name appeared on the international front as a young girl who was shot in the dead for girl’s right to education.
But, she survived the dramatic assault. Her recovery story has been closely tracked by the international media.
In 2013, Yousafzai and her father Ziauddin co-founded the Malala Fund to bring awareness to the social and economic impact of girls’ education worldwide.
On December 10, 2014, Yousafzai received Nobel Peace Prize with Indian children’s rights and education advocate Kailash Satyarthi.