International Day of the Girl: Spotlight on Malala Yousafzai

Today is International Day of the Girl and the theme is innovating girls' education, so it seems only fitting to spotlight the brilliant Malala Yousafzai and all that she has done.

Malala Yousafzai is a 16-year-old Pakistani girl who survived a gunshot to the head after being targeted by the Taliban for supporting girls' education. She has been giving TV interviews on the issue since she was 11, and the assassination attempt has drawn worldwide attention to the struggle for women's rights in Pakistan.  Even now, Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told the Associate Press in an interview that "we will feel proud upon her death.".  But Malala has kept fighting. The assassination attempt has led to the creation of the Malala Fund, a campaign for girl's education worldwide.  President of the EU legislature, Matin Schulz, said "Malala  bravely stands for the right of all children to be granted a fair education. This right for girls is too commonly neglected."  She currently lives in Birmingham, England and was a contender for this year's  Nobel Peace Prize, the youngest person ever to have been considered. She won Europe's top human rights award, the $65,000 Sakharov Award, is expected to meet with Queen Elizabeth II later this month, and was in New York on Thursday, discussing her experiences and promoting her memoir "I am Malala" in television media interviews.  

Amazing interview with her on the Daily Show: