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Did pretty good

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A Pakistani girl was shot in the head and seriously wounded on Oct. 9 by the Taliban as she was leaving school. The 14-year-old activist is well-known for her efforts to promote the schooling of young girls in the Middle East, and the Taliban promises to target her again if she survives.

Malala Yousafzai, a well-known equality activist in Swat, Pakistan, was shot in the head by the Taliban on a school bus filled with fellow classmates on Oct. 9. The 14-year-old girl was targeted because of her efforts to promote education for girls.

Malala was sitting on the bus ready to leave school when an armed man with a beard charged the school bus and asked which girl was Malala. When a nearby girl pointed her out, the gunman opened fire on both Malala and another girls on the bus.

The activist, Pakistani National Youth Peace Prize suffered injuries to her head and neck, but surgeons successfully removed the bullets on Oct. 9, although she remains unconscious. The other girl is in stable condition.

The Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have taken responsibility for the shootings, and a spokesman told a Pakastani newspaper she was targeted because she is a "secular-minded lady" and this incident should be a warning for other young people like her.

They've also promised to come after her again if she survives for her "pro-West" beliefs, and for idolizing Barack Obama.

"In attacking Malala, the terrorists have failed to grasp that she is not only an individual, but an icon of courage and hope who vindicates the great sacrifices that the people of Swat and the nation gave, for wresting the valley from the scourge of terrorism," Pakistan's top military officer General Ashfaq Parvez Kayani said in response the attacks.

Malala is well-respected in Swat Valley for her political efforts, and even won the Pakistani National Youth Peace Prize in 2011. Swat Valley schools closed on Oct. 9 in protest of the attacks, and military officers stood guard at Malala's home to protect her family from the Taliban.

What a courageous young woman. We applaud Malala for standing up for her beliefs, and we are keeping her and her family in our thoughts.

What do YOU think of the attack on Malala HollyMoms?

- Christina Stiehl
More tragic HollyBaby news:

1. Surgeon's Ex-Wife Strangles Four-Year-Old Son In Custody Battle

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Girl, 14, Shot By Taliban For Standing Up For Education

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A Pakistani girl was shot in the head and seriously wounded on Oct. 9 by the Taliban as she was leaving school. The 14-year-old activist is well-known for her efforts to promote the schooling of young girls in the Middle East, and the Taliban promises to target her again if she survives.

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The Pakistani Taliban has provided its justification for the shooting of a 14-year-old schoolgirl who made a name for herself by challenging the Islamist group's crackdown on girls' education.

In a letter issued following international condemnation of the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley, the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) states its case for the attack and threatens anyone who challenges its strict interpretation of Shari'a law.

Signed by TTP spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan, the letter was sent to RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal as well as other Pakistani and international media organizations early on October 10.

The letter, written in English, says a Taliban gunman "successfully targeted" Yousafzai "although she was young and a girl and the TTP does not believe in attacking women."

It says Yousafzai, who gained global recognition at the age of 11 through an online diary she wrote for the BBC about TTP influence in her hometown of Mingora, was shot because "whom so ever leads a campaign against Islam and Shariah is ordered to be killed by Shariah."

The letter accuses Yousafzai of being "pro-West," promoting Western culture, and speaking out against Taliban militants -- charging that Yousafzai's "personality became a symbol of an anti-Shariah campaign."

Using the term for Islamic holy warriors to refer to Taliban militants, the letter says that "Yousafzai was playing a vital role in bucking up the emotions" of Pakistan's military and government "and was inviting Muslims to hate mujahideen."

The letter goes on to argue that "[i]t is a clear command of Shariah that any female who, by any means, plays a role in the war against mujahideen should be killed."

It then seeks to justify the shooting of the schoolgirl by citing passages from the Koran in which a child or woman was killed.

"If anyone argues about [Yousafzai's] young age, then [consult] the story of Hazrat Khizar in the Koran relating that Hazrat Khizar -- while traveling with the Prophet Musa -- killed a child," the letter reads. "Arguing about the reason for his killing, he said that the parents of this child are pious and in future [the child] will cause a bad name for them."

For those who argue that Yousafzai's shooting was not justifiable because she was female, the letter says, "then we can see the incident [in the Koran] of the killing of a wife by a blind companion of the Prophet Muhammad because she spoke insulting words about the Prophet. And the Prophet praised this act."

The letter also addresses criticisms of the TTP's stance against girls' education.

"The Tehrik Taliban's crime wasn't that they banned education for girls. Instead our crime is that we tried to bring the education system for both boys and girls under Shariah," the letter reads. "We are deadly against coeducation and a secular education system, and Shariah orders us to be against it."

The Taliban's justification concludes with a threat, saying: "If anyone thinks that Malala is targeted because of education, that's absolutely wrong and is propaganda by media. Malala is targeted because of her pioneer role in preaching secularism and so-called enlightened moderation. And whom so ever will commit so in the future too will be targeted again by the TTP."

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The Pakistani Taliban's Rationale For Shooting A Schoolgirl

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In a letter issued following international condemnation of the shooting of Malala Yousafzai in Pakistan's northwestern Swat Valley, the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan (TTP) states its case for the attack and threatens anyone who challenges its strict interpretation of Shari'a law.

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Gunmen have wounded a 14-year-old rights activist who has campaigned for girls' education in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan.

Malala Yousafzai was attacked on her way home from school in Mingora, the region's main town.

She came to public attention in 2009 by writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under Taliban militants who had taken control of the valley.

A Pakistani Taliban spokesman told the BBC they carried out the attack.

Ehsanullah Ehsan told BBC Urdu that they attacked her because she was anti-Taliban and secular, adding that she would not be spared.

Malala Yousafzai was travelling with at least one other girl when she was shot, but there are differing accounts of how events unfolded.

Analysis

The chilling attack on the young peace campaigner has been leading TV news bulletins here. Malala Yousafzai is one of the best-known schoolgirls in the country. Young as she is, she has dared to do what many others do not - publicly criticise the Taliban.

Malala's confident, articulate campaign for girls' education has won her admirers - and recognition - at home and abroad. She has appeared on national and international television, and spoken of her dream of a future Pakistan where education would prevail.

Even by the standards of blood-soaked Pakistan, there has been shock at the shooting. It has been condemned by Pakistan's Prime Minister, Raja Pervez Ashraf, who sent a helicopter to transfer Malala to hospital in Peshawar.

The head of Pakistan's Independent Human Rights Commission, Zohra Yusuf, said "this tragic attack on this courageous child" sends a very disturbing message to all those working for women and girls.

One report, citing local sources, says a bearded gunman stopped a car full of schoolgirls, and asked for Malala Yousafzai by name, before opening fire.

But a police official also told BBC Urdu that unidentified gunmen opened fire on the schoolgirls as they were about to board a van or bus.

She was hit in the head and, some reports say, in the neck area by a second bullet, but is now in hospital and is reportedly out of danger. Another girl who was with her at the time was also injured.

'Courage'

Malala Yousafzai was just 11 when she was writing her diary, two years after the Taliban took over the Swat Valley, and ordered girls' schools to close.

In the diary, which she kept for the BBC's Urdu service under a pen name, she exposed the suffering caused by the militants as they ruled.

She used the pen-name Gul Makai when writing the diary. Her identity only emerged after the Taliban were driven out of Swat and she later won a national award for bravery and was also nominated for an international children's peace award.

Correspondents say she earned the admiration of many across Pakistan for her courage in speaking out about life under the brutal rule of Taliban militants.

At that time some of us would go to school in plain clothes, not in school uniform, just to pretend we are not students, and we hid our books under our shawls.
Malala Yousafzai

After the Taliban: Swat women on changing life
One poignant entry reflects on the Taliban decree banning girls' education: "Since today was the last day of our school, we decided to play in the playground a bit longer. I am of the view that the school will one day reopen but while leaving I looked at the building as if I would not come here again."

She has since said that she wants to study law and enter politics when she grows up. "I dreamt of a country where education would prevail," she said.

Taliban driven out

The BBC's Orla Guerin in Islamabad says that Malala Yousafzai was a public figure who didn't shy away from risks and had strong support from her parents for her activism. Indeed, her father, who is a school teacher, expressed his pride in her campaigning.

In a statement about the attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf said: "We have to fight the mindset that is involved in this. We have to condemn it... Malala is like my daughter, and yours too. If that mindset prevails, then whose daughter would be safe?"

The Taliban, under the notorious militant cleric Maulana Fazlullah, took hold of the Swat Valley in late 2007 and remained in de facto control until they were driven out by Pakistani military forces during an offensive in 2009.

While in power they closed girls' schools, promulgated their extreme version of Sharia law and introduced measures such as banning the playing of music in cars.

Since they were ejected, there have been isolated militant attacks in Swat but the region has largely remained stable and many of the thousands of people who fled during the Taliban years have returned.

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Gunmen have wounded a 14-year-old rights activist who has campaigned for girls' education in the Swat Valley in north-west Pakistan. Malala Yousafzai was attacked on her way home from school in Mingora, the region's main town. She came to public attention in 2009 by writing a diary for BBC Urdu about life under Taliban militants who had taken control of the valley.

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Taliban Gun Down Girl Who Spoke Up for Rights (Published 2012)

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Malala Yousafzai, 14, a symbol of defiance and an advocate for the education of girls in Pakistan’s Swat Valley, was shot in the head and neck on Tuesday by masked Taliban gunmen.

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Taliban members shot Malala for speaking out.

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Malala had a blog where she spoke out against the ban.

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Taliban controlled Pakistan and banned girls from getting an education

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The 26 article of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that everyone has the right to an education.