Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who drew global attention after being shot in the head by the Taliban for publicly advocating girls’ education around the world, returned to school on Tuesday, March 19, in Britain, where she has been treated for her injuries. At age 15, she has become an international symbol of equal rights against the Taliban and women’s education around the world. She is also among the nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize.
She described going back to school as the most important day of her life. She attends school close to the hospital where they had to reconstruct her skull last October, where she had been brought for special care. The Taliban shot her point-blank.
Yousafzai continues to be an advocate for girls everywhere to have equal access to education, but she is also deeply committed to her studies and wishes to focus on that more than her brush with death.
“She wants to be a normal teenage girl and to have the support of other girls around,” said her teacher, Ruth Weeks. “Talking to her, I know that’s something she missed during her time in hospital.”