The Taliban is Not the Biggest Barrier to Education for Malala's Peers

Kevin Watkins | The Guardian | Last October, the Taliban thought they had solved a problem. When one of its gunmen shot a 15-year-old girl in the head for publicly opposing a ban on girls' schooling, it looked as though they had silenced a source of dissent. Instead, their intended victim has emerged a powerful voice for education. Speaking at the UN two weeks ago, Malala Yousafzai capitivated a global audience when she called on children worldwide to demand universal primary education and for governments to deliver free schooling.

"I raise up my voice so that those without a voice can be heard," she said. Her speech was a passionate call to action. But it was also a stark reminder of the failure of governments to deliver on their promise to get all of the world's children into school by 2015. And no government has failed more comprehensively than that of Pakistan.

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Pakistan Taliban's letter to Malala Yousafzai

Pakistan Taliban's letter to Malala Yousafzai: We tried to kill you because you were smearing our cause - but we regret attack

The Independent | Omar Waraich | Wednesday 17 July 2013 - A leading commander of the Pakistani Taliban has written to Malala Yousafzai – the 16-year-old schoolgirl and education advocate who survived a near-fatal assassination attempt last October – to express his regret at the attack.


The letter is written by Adnan Rashid, a prominent member of the Pakistani Taliban who joined the militant group after a career as a technician in the Pakistan Air Force.

“When you were attacked, it was shocking for me,” wrote Mr Rashid, according to the letter published by Channel 4. “I wished it would never happened[sic] and I had advised you before.”
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Pakistani schoolgirls struggle back to normality after Taliban attack

The Irish Times | Annabel Symington | Four months after the Taliban tried to kill Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai (15), the two girls injured in the same attack are struggling to regain a normal life.  Kainat Riaz (16) and Shazia Ramzan (14) were sitting on either side of Malala Yousafzai squeezed on the bench of a school bus when a Taliban gunman stopped the bus and opened fire on the schoolgirl education activist. Yousafzai was shot in the head and neck. Riaz was shot through her upper right arm and required four stitches. Ramzan was injured in her left hand and shoulder. (READ MORE)