Angelina Jolie showing support for Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani teen activist shot by Taliban

Angelina Jolie has composed an essay for the Daily Beast, discussing the tragic shooting of 14-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai and how she discussed the situation with her children.

2010 photo by Gage Skidmore

“I felt compelled to share Malala’s story with my children. It was difficult for them to comprehend a world where men would try to kill a child whose only “crime” was the desire that she and others like her be allowed to go to school,” Angelina wrote in the Daily Beast.

Yousafzai was shot in the head by Taliban extremists who have targeted the teen for her vocal protests to girls’ education in Pakistan.

“Malala’s story stayed with them throughout the day, and that night they were full of questions. We learned about Malala together, watching her interviews and reading her diaries. Malala was just 11 years old when she began blogging for the BBC. She wrote of life under the Taliban, of trading in her school uniform for colorless plain clothes, of hiding books under her shawl, and eventually having to stop going to school entirely. ”

After 10 years of serving as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNHCR, a role that enabled her to fight abuse and advocate for children, she was named Special Envoy of UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterresin April for her efforts. In her current role with the UNHCR, Jolie is tasked with focusing on the crises displaced populations face.

Her humanitarian work for children like Malala hits home, too. Three of her six kids were adopted from Cambodia, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Jolie continues: “Still trying to understand, my children asked, ‘Why did those men think they needed to kill Malala?’ I answered, ‘because an education is a powerful thing.'”

The “Tomb Raider” star concludes by suggesting the young girl be considered for a Nobel Peace Prize.