(CNN) -- It began with a ride home from school on Tuesday, October 9.
Gunmen halted the van ferrying Malala Yousufzai through her native Swat Valley, one of the most conservative regions in Pakistan. They demanded that other girls on the vehicle identify her. Malala had faced frequent death threats in the past. Some of the girls pointed her out. At least one gunman opened fire, wounding three girls. Two sustained non-life-threatening injuries, but bullets struck Malala in the head and neck.
Now, a month later, it is nothing short of a miracle that the teen blogger, who fights for the right of girls to get an education, is still alive and even more astounding that she suffered no major brain or nerve damage. In hardly more than four weeks, she has gone from an intensive care unit in Pakistan, showing no signs of consciousness, to walking, writing, reading -- and smiling -- again in a hospital in the United Kingdom. And outside her hospital room, a world sympathetic with her ordeal has transformed her into a global symbol for the fight to allow girls everywhere access to an education.
Malala has encouraged girls and their families to resist the Pakistani Taliban, who pushed girls from classrooms, since she was 11. In January 2009, the militants issued an edict ordering that no school should educate girls. Malala wrote in her online diary about intimidation tactics the Taliban used in the Swat Valley in northwest Pakistan to coerce girls into not going school.
They included house raids to search for books, and Malala had to hide hers under her bed. "I was scared of being beheaded by the Taliban because of my passion for education," she told CNN last year.
Right after her shooting her family kept a low profile, for fear they could be next. The militants vowed that if Malala survived, they'd go after her again.
"We will certainly kill her," a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban said.
The bloodletting sparked outrage inside Pakistan against the radical Islamist group that continues to wield influence in parts of Pakistan. Around the world, the young blogger has become a poster child for a widespread need to permit girls to get an education.
We're so lucky that our Govt. Gives us education. Gives us freedom, give us life that other places don't give. I like 7.50/hour for work, other places don't even get a 0.01. Yes we are lucky.
ReplyDeleteRyan Tappe p7th
The person that had the gun should've just admit that he killed her.It was very wrong for him/her to kill a young person like that,they weren't thinking about what it would do to that family and friends.We are so lucky for having a nice government that pays for us to have a education and to have a nice house to live in.I just don't understand that people would do that to the other people,it is very wrong.They are sinning for killing the other people.The only reason why I don't do it it because I think about what would happen to me if I did that.I would end up in jail,going to court,and paying for what I did to that person and family.I just don't get why they want to do that,it causes problems and if they keep doing that you will just go to hell and I don't want to go there so I'm not going to do it.I always say if someone does that they must have a really good reason for doing that or they just shouldn't do it.I feel bad for that family who has to go through the funeral for the killing of what that person did.That is just sad what they did.
ReplyDeletechelsey jensen p7.
I feel sad that she got shoot for wanting an education. I feel very angry that the boys get an education and the girls don't.Girls should have the same rights as the boys. I would not like to live in that county, because I don't want to get shot just for getting an education.
ReplyDeleteAshleyotto p2
It's easy to see why they'd want to kill her. It's because they're threatened by the fact that women are going to have an education. They've seen what women with educations are capable of and they're affraid of it. But this is a strong girl and whether she dies or not, there is going to be at least one other girl in that situation that wants an education and I wouldn't doubt if many women over there are secretly keeping books and learning things on their own. Women are smart. They can find a way. They can't just kill every woman in their country because then, eventually, there would not be a country or people so... good luck with that Taliban
ReplyDeleteIt's sad to see the forces of the past triumph over modernity and basic human rights. Thankfully, this era is ending and a new one is beginning. They cannot hold education from everyone forever and soon the "old guard" will have no power left.
ReplyDeleteAndrew Hagen Period 3
Wow. That girl sure is brave. It seems like everywhere we hear stories about awful things the Taliban has done, and she still stood up for what she believed in and took a chance. She got shot, but even then she survived! That's one gutsy girl. I admire her a lot and I hope she stays out of harm's way now.
ReplyDeleteAbby Johnson Period 3
She should have been given a metal. Many people are too afraid to stand up for their rights. Now she has to be hidden? Pakistan is stupid..
ReplyDeleteDavid Hoang P3
Nobody should live in fear of being beheaded just because they want an education, like Malala does. She has stood up to her country and the Taliban in front of the world, something not many other people have done. This girl has guts!
ReplyDeleteBridget Erickson p7
This is not okay. She should be able to get an education without being afraid for her life. She has been an inspiration to many other girls who are faced with this. I'm glad she stood up for what she believed in, but it's just wrong to be shot for wanting an education. --Andrea p2
ReplyDeleteI feel that this is an extraordinary story!
ReplyDeleteOver here, most kids absolutely dread going to school.
This girl almost died because she wanted education!
I now know how important my education is and we should not take this opportunity for granted.
The desire for an education is very admirable. Everyone (except for the Pakistani Taliban), it seems, cannot help but admire her spirit. Even her extraordinary recovery really inspires people. Honestly, not very manay people could survive bullet wounds to the head and neck. Not only that, but to not sustain major nerve and brain damage? That is a miracle in itself. Besides that, she went from intensive care and no signs of conciousness existing, to being back to reading, blogging, smiling, and writing again in all around four weeks. She is a true inspiration to all girls who want to learn.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Amsley-Benzie P2
I feel inspired by this girl and her story. Being so young yet standing against the Taliban to defend her beliefs is, although not the safest thing to do, brave. Malala's story brings how much I complain about school, to my attention. Myself and most other girls take our right to an education for granted. I always dread going to school and doing homework but in reality I'm one of the lucky ones because I have the power to make a difference in my life depending on how hard I choose to work. It's so sad to me that many girls in countries such as Pakistan would give anything to have the opportunities I have here. And this makes me thankful for the life I have.
ReplyDeletePeriod 3 Cailee Mesler
I can not picture living in fear of being shot because you are trying to get an education. That is so wrong! Malala is one brave girl and im so glad she lived through it. I feel bad because I take school for granted and there are young women wanting the kind of opportunities I have here. I'm very thankful for my life and I hope the day that women in some countries such as Pakistan will be able to get an education without being afraid will come soon.
ReplyDeletePeriod 2 Suzan Dalen
I think that the courage shown by this girl is incredible. She knows what she wants, and will do anything to get it.Even if it kills her. It's absolutely terrible the way women are treated there. Everyone should be entitled to an education, just because you're a woman doesn't mean you aren't as capable as a man. I hope that this story will inspire people around the world to take a stand against the Pakistani Taliban. Maybe someday soon these women will get the education that they deserve.
ReplyDeletePeriod 3 Madison Goulet
Malala is my hero. She has inspired me to stand up for what I believe in. She has made me re-think what I think of school. Everyday I wake up and just lay in my bed saying I don't want to go to school and then you hear this inspirational story about a girl who is fighting against everything to get an education. It definitely show's how much courage and strength she has and showing her passion for wanting an education by her fighting on. I hope one day the woman of the Pakistani Taliban get the education we all know they deserve.
ReplyDeleteMolly B. Hour 7
Malala is an amazing girl with a strong will and God's hand over her. She stood for the right thing even though she knew she could have died. I hope and pray that she will stay alive and that the Taliban won't find a way to kill her for I doubt they will hesitate to kill her. I also hope that one day soon the Taliban will finally be toppled for good and all the women and girls who have been denied the right to learn will be able to learn alongside with boys. We take for granted the fact that we are able to learn for it has always been there. We cannot fully understand what a blessing the things we hav are until we learn what it is like not to have them, or how necessary they are.
ReplyDeleteAlyssa Crowe
3rd hour
I dont understand why women are treated so poorly in the middle east. They cant get and education, cant get a drivers license without their husbands approval. Malala is so lucky to be alive from being shot in the head, most people die from that.
ReplyDeleteJake Wilmer
2nd hour
LAST COMMENT
ReplyDeleteI can't believe that there are such terrible people in the world. I wouldn't know what to with out an education. I probably wouldn't have my apartment and wouldn't be in the college that I'm in now. In fact I wouldn't even be in college!
ReplyDelete