[Gina]

UN Malala Day events held in 100 countries on November 10

All she wanted was to be free to attend the school, for herself and all the girls!!!!






On Saturday, events were held in Pakistan, Afghanistan, India, the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia, Mexico, Sierra Leone, and many other countries.

Earlier this week, the United Nations declared November 10 Malala Day in honor of the Pakistani human rights campaigner and peace activist, who was shot in the head by the Taliban last month in northern Pakistan.

On October 9, Malala Yousafzai was shot by Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in the town of Mingora for speaking out against the fanatics and promoting education for girls and women in her home region, the Swat Valley of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

“This Saturday (November 10th) will see Malala Day, a global event to show the world that people of all creeds, all sexes, all backgrounds, and all countries stand behind Malala,” former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Envoy for Global Education, said on Friday.

“We are Malala -- this is Malala day; the world to walk in the footsteps of this girl of courage. Malala Yousafzai has become a global icon of hope, an international symbol of courage, a schoolgirl who has won the hearts of millions through her bravery,” Brown stated.

“Malala’s dream is a Pakistan where she, her friends and future generations of girls could attend school, walk freely into a classroom, learn and reach their full potential,” he added.

Over one million people around the world have signed petitions calling on Islamabad to pay stipends to families who put their girls in school in honor of Malala.

"Malala's dreams represent what is best about Pakistan," Brown said as he presented the petitions to Pakistani President Ali Asif Zardari on Friday in Islamabad.

Malala is recovering in Britain. She was flown to Britain on October 15 for specialist care at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham after Pakistani doctors said she needed treatment for a damaged skull and “intensive neuro-rehabilitation.”

Over the past month, tens of thousands of people in Pakistan, the United States, and Britain have held demonstrations and prayer vigils to express their support for Malala and the efforts to provide universal education for women and girls.

In 2008 and 2009, the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan banned female education in the Swat Valley, depriving more than 40,000 girls of education. TTP militants destroyed hundreds of schools in the valley during a campaign of violence over the course of the two years, which led to a dramatic decline in the number of girls enrolled in schools in the region.

In 2009, Malala Yousafzai rose to fame for writing about life in the Swat Valley under the TTP. She later received Pakistan’s National Peace Award for bravery and was also nominated for an international children's peace award.

Source: http://tehrantimes.com

 

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! AllahHafiz ! MF

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Last edited by Gina; 11-12-2012 at 01:00 AM..