From being shot in the head by a Taliban extremist in Pakistan to giving a speech at the United Nations is no small journey, but for 16-year-old Malala Yousufzai, that journey was less about her suffering and more about education for the world's children. She has become the face for the millions of children around the world who receive no education.
Malala was shot Oct. 9, 2012, while boarding a bus in her native Pakistan by a group of extremists who oppose educating girls. The bullets, which struck her and her school friends, was meant to stop her campaigning for better schools, especially for girls.
She described this experience in her speech July 12 at the U.N. this way: "The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage were born."