Malala Yousafzai

Have you heard of Malala Yousafzai? She is a 16 year old Pakistani citizen who is an outspoken advocate for the right of women to receive an education. In 2012, the Taliban attempted to assassinate her. The Taliban wanted to assassinate her and her father because they spoke out to the outside world and promoted education for girls in Pakistan.

This interview she did with Jon Stewart is just amazing. She is wise beyond her years and a true heroine. The key part of the interview came when Stewart asked Malala what she thought when she learned that the Taliban wanted to kill her. This was her response: "I started thinking about that, and I used to think that the Talib would come, and he would just kill me. But then I said, 'If he comes, what would you do Malala?' then I would reply to myself, 'Malala, just take a shoe and hit him.'  But then I said, 'If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference between you and the Talib. You must not treat others with cruelty and that much harshly, you must fight others but through peace and through dialogue and through education.' Then I said I will tell him how important education is and that 'I even want education for your children as well.' And I will tell him, 'That's what I want to tell you, now do what you want.'"

She just released a book this week called I Am Malala . I cannot wait to read it and be inspired even more by this wise, brave, and strong young woman.