ABSTRACT
Even Yousafzai Ziauddin had a blind spot. Living in the Swat Valley on the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, an area where civilians are routinely terrorized by the Taliban, he still encouraged his 15-year-old daughter, Malala, to campaign publicly for education rights for girls. He believed terrorists would not target and kill her. However, on October 9, 2012, Malala’s school bus came to a stop and two masked gunman boarded. One directly approached, shooting her in the head point blank in front of her terrified friends. Both men ran from the bus and were never captured. Capitalizing on the fear inflicted on the local populace and knowing they would never face prosecution, the Taliban immediately took credit for the shooting. Thankfully, Malala received lifesaving care in Pakistan and was transferred to a hospital in the United Kingdom for further surgery and rehabilitation. Undaunted by ongoing death threats from the Taliban, she continues to speak out for her cause while attending school in London and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2014.
