Malala Yousafzai

When she was just 14 years old, Malala was wounded by masked gunmen who singled her out as she returned home in a school bus in Pakistan’s north-west Swat Valley. She was targeted by the Taliban after speaking out against atrocities committed under the regime in October 2012.
Malala was targeted because she spoke up against female inequality and education in her area. According to Malala's friend Shazia, speaking to the Christian Science Monitor a few days after the shooting, a group of militants riding on a bike stopped the bus carrying the schoolgirls. The masked men then boarded the vehicle and pointed guns at the girls, asking for Malala. The militant then recognised the youngster and shot her at point blank range, the girl said. Malala was treated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and has since made the UK her permanent home. The shooting horrified people in Pakistan and internationally and sparked worldwide condemnation. Malala has become an international hero for opposing the Taliban and standing up for girls' education. Nearly a year after Malala was almost murdered by the Pakistan Taliban for defying a ban on female education, one of its leaders told the Daily Telegraph she’s still not safe. “We are not against Malala herself but we are against her ideology,” Shahidullah Shahid told The Telegraph by telephone from an unknown location. “Anyone who campaigns against our religion and criticizes Islam, like she is doing with her secular ideology, is our enemy and so we will target her again, and again,” Shahid added. She accepted that she attacked Islam so we tried to kill her, and if we get another chance we will definitely kill her and that will make us feel proud. Islam prohibits killing women, but except those that support the infidels in their war against our religion," Shahid said. "I'm never going to give up," Malala said when asked about repeated death threats made against her by the Taliban. "They only shot a body but they cannot shoot my dreams." Malala's father said he didn't regret how outspoken his precocious only daughter has been since she was 11 years old, when she first started blogging and speaking out against the denial of education to young girls in Pakistan's Swat Valley. Malala spoke passionately against forced marriages and the denial of education to girls and boys throughout the world. She urged young girls in the developed world to take advantage of their education -- and to do their homework and be kind to their teachers. "I would like to tell all the girls: Realize its importance before it is snatched from you."