Nobel Peace laureate and activists Malala Yousafzai
turned 23 on Sunday. Born on July 12, 1997, in Swat District of Pakistan’s
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Malala hit the headlines
in October 2012, after being shot at by Taliban gunmen in the head, for advocating
education of girls.

Fighting death in a hospital in UK’s Birmingham, Malala
returned to the public eye and continued her fight for gender rights and girls’ education.

She started the Malala Fund along with her father,
Ziauddin Yousafzai, in 2013 to help young girls go to school.

The United Nations have dedicated her birthday as ‘Malala Day’ to commemorate and honour women and children’s rights around the
world.

She has also co-authored a book titled ‘I Am Malala’, an international
bestseller.

Apart from having a day dedicated to her, Malala has
been awarded and honoured by many countries.

She was awarded the first-ever National Youth Peace
Prize by the Pakistan government in 2012.

In 2013, on her 16th birthday, Malala addressed the
United Nations for the first time.

Malala at the age of 17, became the youngest-ever
recipient of the Nobel Peace prize in 2014.

The Canadian government has awarded an honorary
Canadian citizenship to the 23-year-old activist, and she is the youngest person
to address the House of Commons in Canada.

A documentary on her, ‘He Named Me Malala’, was
shortlisted for the Oscars in 2015.

Yousafzai completed her degree in Philosophy, Politics
and Economics at the University of Oxford. She tweeted, “Hard to express my joy
and gratitude right now as I completed my Philosophy, Politics and Economics
degree at Oxford.”

Just ahead of her birthday, a book documenting the
journeys of 25 exceptionally brave girls who fought oppression and defied
regressive social norms for their right to education was announced.

Harper Collins India has acquired the rights of the anthology which is compiled
by Malala Fund, and will be released in 2021.

Edited by Tess Thomas, editor of Assembly, the digital
publication and newsletter of Malala Fund, the book will feature school-aged
girls who are speaking out, tackling local issues in their communities and
showing the next generation that they too can do the same.

Krishan Chopra, publisher at HarperCollins, said the
book is of enormous relevance.