DENVER (AP) - Teenage Nobel Peace laureate Malala Yousafzai (mah-LAH’-lah YOO’-suhf-zeye) said Wednesday she doesn’t want to be known as the girl who was shot by the Taliban. She wants to be known as an advocate for education.
“I felt I had two choices. The first was to speak up and be killed, and the second was to stay quiet and be killed anyway. I chose the first,” she said, according to The Denver Post (https://goo.gl/De8297 ).
The 17-year-old was speaking in Denver to a sold-out crowd as part of a women’s lecture series.
In a bid to prevent her from lobbying for a girl’s right to education, a Taliban gunman shot the then-15-year-old Malala in the head in Pakistan in October 2012. She survived and now lives in Birmingham, England, where she continues to fight for equal education.
Earlier this month, Pakistani police revealed that eight out of 10 militants charged in the attack actually had been acquitted in April, and not sentenced to life in prison as had been reported at the time. The police and government offered no explanation.
Last year, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She shared it with Kailash Satyarthi of India, honored for helping protect children from slavery, extremism and forced labor.
Malala has called for increased leadership in girls’ education globally. Her nonprofit organization, The Malala Fund, is campaigning for countries to pay for 12 years of free primary and secondary education for all children by 2030.
About 50 young women from Denver-area women and girls organizations gathered outside the Bellco Theater on Wednesday, holding signs each emblazoned with a different word.
Words such as rare, courageous, inspiring and advocate were used to describe Malala.
“I came from a different country with a different language, so it’s really difficult for me to understand how it is here. So when you hear her speak and see all she went through, it gives you a boost,” said Danya Al-Heriz, 19, who came to Colorado from Iraq and now lives in Dacono. “It makes you feel that it’s possible, that you have a chance.”
On Tuesday, Malala urged U.S. lawmakers at the Capitol to support efforts to educate the world’s children. She is scheduled to make appearances in San Jose and Santa Barbara, California, on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
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Information from: The Denver Post, https://www.denverpost.com
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