MALALA'S STORY
On October 9, 2012, 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck along with two of her classmates, Shazia Ramzan and Kainat Riaz, while riding home on a school bus. In 2009 Malala had begun blogging for BBC Urdu about her experiences trying to pursue an education. Passing handwritten notes to reporters in secret, Malala amplified the voices of girls throughout rural Pakistan who were threatened and targeted for going to school. Being the daughter of an education activist, Malala was targeted not just for her efforts but also for her father's commitment to education, especially for girls.
Her voice was so threatening to the extremists controlling her home province, they tried to assassinate her. They failed.
The attack on Malala drew international attention, and her voice has become symbolic not only for girls in Pakistan, but the millions of girls around the world who are unable to attend school. She has made a miraculous recovery and continues to make powerful statements for girls’ right to education. She has been nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize by Desmond Tutu, is the winner of Pakistan’s first ever National Youth Peace Prize, and is the youngest ever nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize. She was the 2012 runner-up of Time’s Person of the Year and was listed as one of Time’s 100 most influential people.
Malala is also the co-founder, along with her father, of the Malala Fund. This is an organization that is "focused on helping girls go to school and raise their voices for the right to education."
OUR STORY
Hi. We’re Lena and Olivia. On opposite sides of the globe from Malala, we were disgusted, shocked, and outraged by the attack on Malala. At the time of the attack, Olivia was in Jordan and Lena was in Michigan. While ranting to each other on Facebook about the abhorrent state of humanity, Olivia had a pretty snazzy idea.
Olivia: I just thought of a great social media thing that could happen/would be an awesome project for us/we should really start this right now.
Project #GIRLWITHABOOK. Apparently girls with books are scary. Let’s get people to post pictures of themselves with books! A favorite book, a random book, a school book, you name it! Let’s do this.
Naturally, Lena was pretty stoked about this fantastic idea.
So, that’s exactly what we did. We collected pictures, first from family and friends, and before we knew it, people around the world were sending us pictures reading books and holding signs saying “I Stand With Malala.”
We have received generous support from the National Women’s History Museum (USA), the Half the Sky Movement, the United Nations, UN Messengers of Peace Paulo Coelho, Jane Goodall, and Midori, UN Special Envoy for Global Education Gordon Brown, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
Bottom line? We're just two women using our laptops and social media to raise awareness about girls' education.
ABOUT LENA & OLIVIA
LENA SHAREEF
Lena Shareef recently graduated with a Master's degree from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. She received her BA in Film and Communications, with a minor in International Studies from American University (which is how she and Olivia met).
Lena is really passionate about telling stories in innovative ways, whether it's on a stage, through a video, a novel, or a tweet.
OLIVIA CURL
Olivia Curl is a recent, magna cum laude graduate of American University's School of International Service in Washington, DC. She graduated with a BA in International Studies and a minor in Arabic Language and has studied abroad in Egypt and Jordan.
Olivia gets really fired up about child marriage, primary education, and maternal health, or as she likes to say "The ultimate trifecta of gender equality and international development."
Olivia enjoys chocolate (a lot), late night debates with friends, and recently ran a half marathon (which makes her sound far more motivated and athletic than she actually is).