Malala Day 2024: History, significance, quotes and why we celebrate it

Malala Day 2024: Malala Yousafzai was born in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on July 12, 2024. She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for advocating female education

Malala Day celebrates Malala Yousafzai who bravely fights for girls' education. Today is the birthday of Malala, who became an international symbol of the fight for girls’ education after she was shot in the head by the Taliban. People celebrate this unique day on July 12 every year, which was the date of her birth.

Her fight began when she disobeyed the Taliban's diktat on prohibition of girls from attending schools in Pakistan. She emerged as the face of the fight for girls’ education when she was first recognised globally on October 9, 2012.

History of World Malala Day

International Malala Day was first celebrated on July 12, 2013, when a Taliban gunman shot Malala for not following the restriction on female education in the country. The meeting of the United Nations was addressed by the former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was serving as a UN Special Envoy for Global Education. This day coincides with Malala's birthday.

 

According to the United Nations, the day calls for world leaders to ensure free and mandatory education for girl children. This day emphasises that education is not a privilege but a fundamental right for everyone. 

Significance Of Malala Day

International Malala Day is observed every year to support laws and programs to ensure that children worldwide have the right to an education. By celebrating Malala Day, we uphold our shared obligation to fight for access to education for all children, irrespective of gender or background and pay tribute to her bravery and dedication. 

This day is also a reminder of individual determination and standing up for one's beliefs that can profoundly impact the world. Millions of people worldwide are denied access to quality education; hence, this day is a perfect occasion to draw attention to them.

Malala Day 2024: Top 10 quotes of Malala Yousafzai

• “We realise the importance of our voices only when we are silenced."
• "Let us make our future now, and let us make our dreams tomorrow's reality."
• "I raise up my voice—not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard."
• "When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."
• "One child, one teacher, one book, one pen can change the world."
• "There should be no discrimination against languages people speak, skin colour, or religion."
• "I don't want to be remembered as the girl who was shot. I want to be remembered as the girl who stood up."
• "If one man can destroy everything, why can't one girl change it?"
• "When someone takes away your pens, you realise quite how important education is."
• "I tell my story, not because it is unique, but because it is not. It is the story of many girls."

About Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist and a Nobel Prize laureate. She was born on 12 July 1997, in the Swat District of Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She is a female education activist and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17 for her advocacy for girls’ education.

In 2009, Malala started writing a blog under a pseudonym against the military activity rising in her hometown. Once her identity was revealed, she along with her father Ziauddin continued to speak out for the right to education. She also founded the Malala Fund with her father to raise awareness of the social and economic impact of girl's education and to empower girls to demand change.