Malala Yousufzai: Swat Valley Girl, 14, Shot In Head By Taliban After Speaking Out
Taliban gunmen in Pakistan have shot and wounded a 14-year-old school girl who had previously risen to notoriety after publicly speaking out against the militia group, according to authorities.
Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head and neck when gunmen took aim at her school bus in Swat Valley, which is northwest of the Islamabad capital. Police say two other girls were also wounded during the ordeal.
Yousufzai spoke out against the extremists during a time period when even the government wasn't making it a point to aggressively address the violence. In 2009, they had agreed to halt their fire with the Taliban in Swat, which essentially recognized the group as having control of the area. Soon after, the radicals put up courts, murdered residents and closed girls' schools, including the one that Yousufzai had gone to.
Just eleven at the time, a documentary film crew had filmed the young girl crying as she spoke about her pursuit to one day become a doctor.
"My friend came to me and said, 'for God's sake, answer me honestly, is our school going to be attacked by the Taliban.'?"
Yousufzai also wrote in a blog published by the BBC, stating: "During the morning assembly we were told not to wear colorful clothes as the Taliban would object."
When the army eventually regained control in 2009, Yousufzai was presented with the country's highest civilian award. She was also nominated for awards for child activism.
From an unknown area, Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan acknowledged that his militant group was indeed behind the horrid shooting, according to Yahoo.
"She was pro-West, she was speaking against Taliban and she was calling President Obama her ideal leader. She was young but she was promoting Western culture in Pashtun areas," which refers to the majority ethnic group that makes up northwest Pakistan and southern and eastern Afghanistan.
On behalf of the U.S. State Department, spokeswoman Victoria Nuland spoke to the site regarding the heinous act of violence.
"Directing violence at children is barbaric. It's cowardly. And our hearts go out to her and the others who were wounded, as well as their families."
