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Entity explains why Malala is an inspiration to us all.

What did you do on your 18th birthday? Eat cake with friends? Buy your first lottery ticket? Throw a party people are still talking about?

To celebrate her big day, Malala Yousafzai, opened a school for almost 200 Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon. “Today on my first day as an adult,” said the Pakistani activist for women’s education. “On behalf of the world’s children, I demand of leaders we must invest in books instead of bullets.”

Malala Yousafzai, who initially called the Swat Valley of Pakistan home, is an inspirational activist for women’s education in Pakistan. However, her influence and promotion of women’s rights have spread much farther than the Middle East. In 2014, Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian activist fighting against the exploitation of children for labor.

As a child, Yousafzai dreamed of becoming a doctor, but after becoming more involved in politics, she altered her goals, desiring to become the prime minister of Pakistan. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, heavily influenced this decision as he also advocates for improvements in education. He enrolled his daughter in a Pakistani school and spoke out against the Taliban’s attacks on girls’ schools in the country. Malala followed suit. The young woman even published blog posts on BBC under the pseudonym Gul Makai, speaking out against the Taliban and stressing a woman’s right to education.

READ MORE: Why We Can’t Forget Malala Yousafzai’s Inspirational Story

In December of 2009, dominoes fell that would eventually lead to an assassination attempt. Yousafzai’s real identity was discovered and she began receiving death threats planted in newspapers and slid under her door. However, she chose to continue her activism, leading to an assassination attempt when Yousafzai was only 15 years old when a Taliban gunman shot her point blank on a Pakistan school bus, injuring her and two other girls.

After the assault, Yousafzai was rushed to a military hospital in Peshawar in critical condition and then flown to Great Britain for further treatment. Several surgeries and a medically induced coma later, Yousafzai awoke with only minor brain damage.

However, the Taliban’s assassination attempt seems to have the opposite effect that the Taliban intended; instead of stunting her activism, the assault raised awareness of Yousafzai’s mission and triggered women’s education movements all over the world in support of the injured advocate. Extending the movement beyond the Middle East, Malala spoke at the United Nations on her 16th birthday in 2013. Forum audience members likely expected Yousafzai to condemn the Taliban, but instead they heard words of love and forgiveness.

“I don’t even hate the Talib who shot me,” Yousafzai stated. “Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him.”

READ MORE: Women’s Rights Soar in the Israeli Air Force

In 2013, Yousafzai released an autobiography titled “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban,” which received praise and garnered even more support for the unstoppable activist’s causes. Today, Yousafzai continues to campaign for women’s education and has even established the Malala Fund, a foundation seeking to “empower girls and amplify their voices … invest in local education leaders and programmes … and advocate for more resources for education and safe schools for every child.”

Considering Yousafzai’s success at promoting equality so far, we can’t wait to see what she does for her 21st birthday.

Edited by Casey Cromwell
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