World’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate and a Pakistani activist for female education, Malala Yousafzai will be celebrating her 21st birthday today. And every July 12 is a UN observance called ‘Malala Day’. The day is based upon the life and struggles of young Malala of Pakistan, who has been advocating for equal access to education for women ever since she was 11-years-old. Because of her tireless efforts and her never backing down attitude, she became the target of the Taliban who shot her right in the head in October 2012.

What is Malala Day?

On July 12, 2013, Malala Yousafzai, 16-year-old at that time engaged in the promotion of women’s education, delivered an impassioned speech at the United Nations (UN) headquarters on the need for gender equality in education. The address saw several rounds of standing ovations for the teenager and the day, July 12, which is also her birthday, was soon declared by the UN as Malala Day in honour of the young activist.

For her efforts toward promoting women’s education in Pakistan, in October 2012 she was attacked and left in critical condition by Taliban when she was on her way to school. She was rushed to a UK hospital where she recovered. After her recovery, Malala bravely continued to advocate women’s education. She also founded the Malala Fund to help young girls have access to education.

Currently, she is the UN’s youngest ambassador for peace and is studying politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University. Apart from having a day dedicated to her, Malala has over the years been the recipient of many awards and honours. In 2012, the Pakistan government awarded her the first National Youth Peace Prize. At 17, she became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace prize.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 12, 2018 10:19 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).