But here’s a bit of good news for a change –
She has now recovered following treatment at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
She described starting at the city’s Edgbaston High School for Girls as “the most important day” of her life.
She said: “I think it is the happiest moment that I’m going back to school, this is what I dreamed, that all children should be able to go to school because it is their basic right.
“I am so proud to wear the uniform because it proves I am a student and that I am living my life and learning.”
Malala is in year nine and will start her GCSE curriculum next year.
She said she was looking forward to learning about politics and law.
That is fantastic. Meanwhile the fund for Kainaat Riaz is at $2,290.
That’s good news. Among the former pupils of the school is Prof Dame Sally Davies – Chief Medical Officer and a wonderful stirrer-up of the complacent! A great role model for Malala.
This is really heartwarming news, but I have one concern. I am worried that telling the world which school she is at might attract trouble for her. The taliban aren’t confined to the middle east unfortunately.
Yeah, stevebowen. Some of them are in Birmingham but you can’t spend your whole life hiding – that way nothing changes, nothing gets done.
I’m having second thoughts about the way I worded my 3. I certainly had no wish to be rude to you, stevebowen. If it came across that way, I apologise.
I should have been more patient and said something along the lines of …..
Malala Yousafzai knows she will never be entirely safe – not for the rest of her life, nowhere on the planet. She’s spoken about this and factored the knowledge into her decisions.
I would be very surprised indeed if Birmingham, since she left hospital, has not been crawling with Pakistani security people, British security people and – very likely – US security people, all doing risk assessments, checking lines of sight until they were satisfied they could handle whatever happens.
Apart from being a good school, Edgbaston High School has a large, green campus and a more stable population of both staff and pupils than a Birmingham school would often have.
Remember the Taliban’s tactics? Shoot up a couple of schools then go to the elders of all the local villages saying, “Better not send your girls to school or the Taliban will get them.” No-one is fooled by this – the elders know that the terrorists and those urging caution are one and the same. And the Taliban know that they know but everyone is more comfortable if nothing changes and the appearance of respectability is preserved.
Pakistan just passed a milestone, by the way. For the first time since independence a democratically elected government served out its term without a coup. To keep up any progress it’s going to need future leaders like Malala coming up and, already, demanding better than the past.
What a price Malala, Kainat and Shazia had to pay for the world to stand up and listen. To think that education is taken for granted by so many in the west, whilst girls of their calibre had to put their lives at risk in order to seek to be educated.
I wish Malala the very best in her new school at Edgbaston. I used to know the area very well.
Ahh, this makes me really pleased!
Just need to hope that my fellow Brummies can give her the protection and support that she needs.
@Maureen Brian
Yes I take your point and if Malala is taking the risk on her own behalf that’s fine (and exceedingly brave, which we know she is). But the media don’t have to take the risk on her behalf.
I realise of course that wherever she is if Islamist forces want to find her they will, it just seemed innapropriate to shout her whereabouts from the rooftops on day one.
Oh! and I didn’t think you were being rude 🙂 but thanks for elucidating.
Great news, I’m in awe of these girls. 🙂
Just a note that the fund for Kainat Riaz is at $3510 of $5000 with 11 days to go.