Taliban Shoot 14-year-old Campaigner for Girls' Right to Education

The Taliban have shot and wounded a 14-year-old girl who campaigned for girls’ right to education in Pakistan.

Malala Yousafzai earned respect in her home country for standing up for her right to an education. Malala resisted the Taliban’s orders banning girls from attending school in the Swat Valley where she lives. Malala also kept a blog detailing her experiences under Taliban rule.

According to the BBC:

Malala Yousafzai was travelling with at least one other girl when she was shot, but there are differing accounts of how events unfolded.

One report, citing local sources, says a bearded gunman stopped a car full of schoolgirls, andasked for Malala Yousafzai by name, before opening fire.

But a police official also told BBC Urdu that unidentified gunmen opened fire on the schoolgirls as they were about to board a van or bus.

She was hit in the head and, some reports say, in the neck area by a second bullet. Another girl who was with her at the time was also injured.

Doctors who treated her in Mingora initially said she was out of danger. She has now been taken by helicopter to Peshawar for further treatment, officials say.
 

The next time you find yourself staring mindlessly out of the window in class, or whinging about that essay on Wittgenstein, remember that the education you enjoy is a privilege that other people risk their lives to secure.