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Published On: Thu, Oct 11th, 2012

Malala Yousafzai, teenage Pakistani protester, gunned down by Taliban

 Malala Yousafzai was only 11 when she spoke out against the Taliban sweeping through her hometown in 2009.

Yousafzai, who wanted to become a physician, became a symbol of defiance against Taliban subjugation, says the NY Times.

Malala Yousafzai

On Tuesday, masked Taliban gunmen attempted to murder the young girl, now 14, shooting her in the head and neck and wounding two other girls. The two have survived, but Yousafzai was in critical condition with a bullet imbedded in her brain.

A Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, confirmed by phone that Ms. Yousafzai had been the target, calling her crusade for education rights an “obscenity.”

“She has become a symbol of Western culture in the area; she was openly propagating it,” Mr. Ehsan said, adding that if she survived, the militants would certainly try to kill her again. “Let this be a lesson.”

“She symbolizes the brave girls of Swat,” said Samar Minallah, a documentary filmmaker who has worked among Pashtun women. “She knew her voice was important, so she spoke up for the rights of children. Even adults didn’t have a vision like hers.”

Her father ran one of the last schools to defy Taliban orders to end female education. As an 11-year-old, Malala, who wrote an anonymous blog documenting her experiences for the BBC.

The attack was an embarrassment for the Pakistani Army, which has boasted of pushing the Taliban from Swat. The army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, visited the hospital where Malala was being treated, and, in a rare public statement, he condemned the “twisted ideology” of the “cowards” who had attacked her.

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  1. Malala Yousafzai denied Nobel Peace Prize, anti-chemical weapons group takes top honor - The Global Dispatch says:

    […] Yousafzai is the teen attacked on a bus by Taliban for her role as an advocate to educate girls in Pakistan. She was shot in the head and now […]

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    […] is an even bigger icon and role model to girls, women and the people of Pakistan after surviving a life threatening attack by the Taliban. Malala […]

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    […] 15-year-old was taken on Monday to a British hospital for treatment of a gunshot wound to the head after a Taliban gunman attacked on her school bus. Malala Yousafzai supplied by Pakistani […]

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    […] 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 […]

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    […] teen, age 14, was shot by Taliban, targeted for being a vocal advocate against the Islamic opppresion and the needs for girls’ […]

  8. Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani girl activst shot by Taliban, airlifted to Britain - The Global Dispatch says:

    […] Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban last week for advocating girls’ education has been flown to Britain for emergency specialist care, the […]

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