Malala was named after Malalai of Maiwand, a poet and a woman warrior. The name could not be more fitting.

Being only fourteen years old did not matter squat to Malala Yousafazi. In a short fourteen years, she has won fame for fighting for peace, womens rights, and humanity. Last year, she won the National Peace award in Pakistan for all her efforts. In 2009—at only the age of 11—she fought Taliban insurgency that tried to take over her village of Swat. She wanted to set up her own political party which would campaign the right of young Pakistani girls to education.

This girl—this heroine—was shot by a member of the Taliban, in the head and the neck, and is now in critical condition. The Taliban called her work “obscenity”. I call it heroism. They tried to silence this girl forever—they tried, and are still trying, to silence the ideas of freedom and rights and equality forever. But they will not win this war, not while human beings like Malala Yousafzai breathe and fight.
An army chief called Malala “an icon of courage and hope”. She’s more than that, much more. She’s the dawn of a new generation, the leader of a revolution in which humanity and justice prevails over the whole world.

Malala, you stand as a role model for every girl in the world, to fight for what we believe in, no matter what the cost. You’ve brought a beautiful gift to the world, and to Pakistan, the gift of belief; belief that things can change. Your message does not go unheard just as your own ideas have never gone unspoken.
God-willing, we will see you get back on your feet and go, to advocate for the rights you deserve, with the power of the world behind you. We will see you reform your country and much more.
Thank you, for the inspiration you gave us all, by being a free-thinker, as much of a warrior as your namesake.