Malala Yousufzai is a 14 year old girl from Pakistan. Today she is in critical condition following a surgery that removed bullets from the left side of her head; bullets that flew from the barrel of a Taliban gun. Malala’s troubles with Muslim extremists began when she was just 11, the day she decided to sit down behind a computer to begin chronicling life in her small village within the Swat Valley. Her blog drew attention to the oppressive life under the regime that denied education for woman and won her a nomination for the International Children’s Peace Prize. Unfortunately, it simultaneously earned her a spot on the Taliban’s hit list. Last week they made good on their promise by tracking down a van carrying Malala, reaching a rifle into the window, and opening fire.
It should make anyone who has heard the story question, deeply question, the validity of the theology of any group who sustains their power by seeking to kill 14 year-old bloggers who threaten their authority.
But it should also draw attention to the fact that girls around the world are at risk every day for acts that are far less controversial than blogging. In fact, more girls are murdered ever year in China and India than are born in America annually, for one simple reason…
because they are girls.
You can make a difference in this statistic. Visit the site:
http://www.itsagirlmovie.com.
Sign the manifesto. Get educated. Spread the word. Stand with those who are most vulnerable. Speak for those without a voice.
