write a biography on malala yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai

At age eleven, Malala Yousafzai was already advocating for the rights of women and girls. As an outspoken proponent for girls’ right to education, Yousafzai was often in danger because of her beliefs. However, even after being shot by the Taliban, she continued her activism and founded the Malala Fund with her father. By age seventeen, Yousafzai became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city in the Swat Valley of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. Yousafzai was the first of three children born to Ziauddin and Tor Pekai Yousafzai. Although it was not always easy to raise a girl child in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai’s father insisted that she received all of the same opportunities afforded to boy children. Her father was a teacher and education advocate that ran a girls’ school in their village. Due to his influence, Yousafzai was passionate about knowledge from a very young age, and she would often waddle into her father’s classes before she could even talk. However, by the time she was ten years old, Taliban extremists began to take control of the Swat Valley and many of her favorite things were banned. Girls were no longer able to attend school, and owning a television, playing music and dancing were all prohibited. Girl’s education was specifically targeted by the Taliban and by the end of 2008 they had destroyed over 400 schools. At eleven years old, Yousafzai decided to stand up to the Taliban.

Yousafzai started by blogging anonymously for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in early 2009. She used the penname, “Gul Makai,” and spoke about her life under Taliban rule and how much she wanted to attend school. Her first BBC diary entry entitled, “I Am Afraid,” detailed her nightmares about a full-blown war in her hometown. Her nightmares started to become reality, as Yousafzai and her family were soon forced to leave their home due to rising tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban. This did not stop Yousafzai from advocating for her right to attend school. Over the next few years, she and her father began speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in the media. They campaigned for Pakistani girls’ access to a free quality education. By 2011, Yousafzai was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. Although she did not win, that same year she earned Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize. Yousafzai was now a household name. However, this also made her a target.

On October 9, 2012, fifteen-year old Yousafzai was on the bus returning from school with her friends. Two members of the Taliban stopped the bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” When they identified Yousafzai, they shot her in the head. Fortunately, she was airlifted to a Pakistani military hospital and then taken to an intensive care unit in England. After ten days in a medically induced coma, Yousafzai woke up in a hospital in Birmingham, England. She had suffered no major brain damage, but the left side of her face was paralyzed, and she would require many reparative surgeries and rehabilitation. After months of medical treatment, Yousafzai was able to return to her family that now lived in England. In March 2013, Yousafzai began attending school in Birmingham. Although she was now able to attend school in England, she decided to keep fighting “until every girl could go to school.” [1] On her sixteenth birthday, Yousafzai spoke at the United Nations in New York. That same year she published her autobiography entitled, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” She was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament for her activism.

In 2014, Yousafzai and her father established the Malala Fund to internationally support and advocate for women and girls. Through her charity, she met with Syrian refugees in Jordan, young women students in Kenya, and spoke out in Nigeria against the terrorist group Boko Haram that abducted young girls to stop them from going to school. In December of 2014, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. At age seventeen, she became the youngest person to be named a Nobel laureate. Since then, Yousafzai has continued to advocate for the rights of women and girls. The Malala Fund advocates for quality education for all girls by funding education projects internationally, partnering with global leaders and local advocates, and pioneering innovative strategies to empower young women. Yousafzai is currently studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.

[1] Yousafzai , Malala. “Malala's Story: Malala Fund.” Malala Fund. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://malala.org/malalas-story.

• Brenner, Marie. “Malala Yousafzai: The 15-Year-Old Pakistani Girl Who Wanted More from Her Country.” Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair, January 29, 2015. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2013/04/malala-yousafzai-pakistan-profile.
• The Nobel Foundation. “Malala Yousafzai: Biographical.” NobelPrize.org. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/biographical/
• Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb.  I Am Malala: the Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban . London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013.
• Yousafzai , Malala. “Malala's Story: Malala Fund.” Malala Fund. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://malala.org/malalas-story.

Photo: Public domain.

MLA – Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Malala Yousafzai.” National Women’s History Museum, 2020. Date accessed.

Chicago – Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Malala Yousafzai.” National Women’s History Museum. 2020. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/malala-yousafzai.

• BBC News. “Profile: Malala Yousafzai.” BBC, August 17, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23241937.
• Time Magazine. “Malala Yousafzai: 100 Women of the Year.” Time, March 5, 2020. https://time.com/5793780/malala-yousafzai-100-women-of-the-year/.

Related Biographies

Stacey Abrams

Abigail Smith Adams

Jane Addams

Toshiko Akiyoshi

Related background, mary church terrell , belva lockwood and the precedents she set for women’s rights, women’s rights lab: black women’s clubs, educational equality & title ix:.

Malala Fund is working for a world where every girl can learn and lead.

• Leadership Council
• Ways to support
• Shop our store

“I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.” -Malala

• Why Girls’ Education

Malala Fund invests in education activists and advocates who are driving solutions to barriers to girls’ education in their communities.

• Education Champion Network
• Girl Programme

A digital newsletter and publication for girls and young women to share their thoughts, challenges and accomplishments.

The latest updates from Malala Fund – learn more about how we work, the issue of girls’ education and our research.

• Impact Stories
• Research Library

Dive deep into Malala Fund‘s report cards and explore the state of girls’ education in 120 countries.

Learn how you can help support Malala Fund and receive the latest updates on our work.

“I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls.”

Malala's Story

Learn how malala began her fight for girls — from an education activist in pakistan to the youngest nobel peace prize laureate — and how she continues her campaign through malala fund., i was born in mingora, pakistan on july 12, 1997..

Welcoming a baby girl is not always cause for celebration in Pakistan — but my father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was determined to give me every opportunity a boy would have.

My father was a teacher and ran a girls’ school in our village.

I loved school. But everything changed when the Taliban took control of our town in Swat Valley. The extremists banned many things — like owning a television and playing music — and enforced harsh punishments for those who defied their orders. And they said girls could no longer go to school.

In January 2008 when I was just 11 years old, I said goodbye to my classmates, not knowing when — if ever — I would see them again.

I spoke out publicly on behalf of girls and our right to learn. And this made me a target.

In October 2012, on my way home from school, a masked gunman boarded my school bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” He shot me on the left side of my head.

I woke up 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England. The doctors and nurses told me about the attack — and that people around the world were praying for my recovery.

After months of surgeries and rehabilitation, I joined my family in our new home in the U.K.

It was then I knew I had a choice: I could live a quiet life or I could make the most of this new life I had been given. I determined to continue my fight until every girl could go to school.

With my father, who has always been my ally and inspiration, I established Malala Fund, a charity dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to achieve a future she chooses. In recognition of our work, I received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014 and became the youngest-ever Nobel laureate.

I began studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.

And every day I fight to ensure all girls receive 12 years of free, safe, quality education.

I travel to many countries to meet girls fighting poverty, wars, child marriage and gender discrimination to go to school. Malala Fund is working so that their stories, like mine, can be heard around the world.

We invest in developing country educators and activists, like my father, through Malala Fund’s Education Champion Network. And we hold leaders accountable for their promises to girls.

I graduated from Oxford University!

I will always treasure my time at Lady Margaret Hall — the lectures, club meetings, balls and late nights (some spent finishing papers, some just chatting with friends in the dorm). Although a global pandemic meant I spent my final months as a university student in my parents' house, I'm grateful that I was able to complete my education. After taking time to relax, I am more dedicated than ever to my fight for girls.

With more than 130 million girls out of school today, there is more work to be done. I hope you will join my fight for education and equality. Together, we can create a world where all girls can learn and lead.

Support Malala’s fight for girls’ education

With more than 130 million girls out of school today, she needs your help breaking down the barriers that hold girls back.

Your gift today is an investment in Malala Fund programmes that help girls around the world go to school.

Malala Yousafzai: Youngest Winner of Nobel Peace Prize

Drew Angerer / Getty Images

• Important Figures
• History Of Feminism
• Women's Suffrage
• Women & War
• Laws & Womens Rights
• Feminist Texts
• American History
• African American History
• African History
• Ancient History and Culture
• Asian History
• European History
• Latin American History
• Medieval & Renaissance History
• Military History
• The 20th Century
• B.A., Mundelein College
• M.Div., Meadville/Lombard Theological School

Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani Muslim born in 1997, is the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize , and an activist supporting the education of girls and women’s rights .

Earlier Childhood

Malala Yousafzai was born in Pakistan , born July 12, 1997, in a mountainous district known as Swat. Her father, Ziauddin, was a poet, educator, and social activist, who, with Malala’s mother, encouraged her education in a culture that often devalues the education of girls and women. When he recognized her keen mind, he encouraged her even more, talking politics with her from a very young age, and encouraging her to speak her mind.  She has two brothers, Khusal Khan and Apal Khan. She was raised as a Muslim and was part of the Pashtun community.

Advocating Education for Girls

Malala had learned English by the age of eleven and was already by that age a strong advocate of education for all. Before she was 12, she began a blog, using a pseudonym, Gul Makai, writing of her daily life for BBC Urdu. When the Taliban , an extremist and militant Islamic group, came to power in Swat, she focused her blog more on the changes in her life, including the Taliban’s ban on education for girls , which included the closing of, and often physical destruction or burning of, over 100 schools for girls. She wore everyday clothing and hid her schoolbooks so that she could continue to attend school, even with the danger. She continued to blog, making clear that by continuing her education, she was opposing the Taliban. She mentioned her fear, including that she might be killed for going to school.

The New York Times produced a documentary that year about the destruction of girls’ education by the Taliban, and she began more avidly supporting the right of education for all. She even appeared on television. Soon, her connection with her pseudonymous blog became known, and her father received death threats. He refused to close the schools he was connected with. They lived for a while in a refugee camp. During her time in a camp, she met women's rights advocate Shiza Shahid, an older Pakistani woman who became a mentor to her.

Malala Yousafzai remained outspoken on the topic of education. In 2011, Malala won the National Peace Prize for her advocacy.

Her continued attendance at school and especially her recognized activism enraged the Taliban. On October 9, 2012, gunmen stopped her school bus and boarded it. They asked for her by name, and some of the fearful students showed her to them. The gunmen began shooting, and three girls were hit with bullets. Malala was injured the most severely, shot in the head and neck. The local Taliban claimed credit for the shooting, blaming her actions for threatening their organization. They promised to continue to target her and her family if she should survive.

She nearly died of her wounds. At a local hospital, doctors removed a bullet in her neck. She was on a ventilator. She was transferred to another hospital, where surgeons treated the pressure on her brain by removing part of her skull. The doctors gave her a 70% chance of survival.

Press coverage of the shooting was negative, and Pakistan’s prime minister condemned the shooting. Pakistani and international press were inspired to write more extensively about the state of education for girls, and how it lagged behind that of boys in much of the world.

Her plight was known worldwide. Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize was renamed the National Malala Peace Prize. Only a month after the shooting, people organized the Malala and the 32 Million Girls Day, to promote girls’ education.

Move to Great Britain

To better treat her injuries, and to escape the death threats to her family, the United Kingdom invited Malala and her family to move there. Her father was able to obtain work in the Pakistani consulate in Great Britain, and Malala was treated in a hospital there.

She recovered very well. Another surgery put a plate into her head and gave her a cochlear implant to offset the hearing loss from the shooting.

By March of 2013, Malala was back in school, in Birmingham, England. Typically for her, she used her return to school as an opportunity to call for such education for all girls worldwide. She announced a fund to support that cause, the Malala Fund , taking advantage of her worldwide celebrity to fund the cause she was passionate about. The Fund was created with the assistance of Angelina Jolie. Shiza Shahid was a co-founder.

In 2013, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and for TIME magazine’s Person of the Year but won neither. She was awarded a French prize for women’s rights, the Simone de Beauvoir Prize, and she made TIME’s list of 100 most influential people in the world.

In July, she spoke at the United Nations in New York City. She wore a shawl that had belonged to murdered Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto . The United Nations declared her birthday “Malala Day.”

I Am Malala, her autobiography, was published that fall, and the now 16-year-old used much of the funds for her foundation.

She spoke in 2014 of her heartbreak at the kidnapping, just a year after she was shot, of 200 girls in Nigeria by another extremist group, Boko Haram, from a girls’ school

Nobel Peace Prize

In October of 2014, Malala Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, with Kailash Satyarthi , a Hindu activist for education from India. The pairing of a Muslim and Hindu, a Pakistani and an Indian, was cited by the Nobel Committee as symbolic.

Arrests and Convictions

In September 2014, just a month before the Nobel Peace Prize announcement, Pakistan announced they had arrested, after a long investigation, ten men who had, under the direction of Maulana Fazullah, Taliban head in Pakistan, carried out the assassination attempt. In April 2015, the men were convicted and sentenced.

Continued Activism and Education

Malala has continued to be a presence on the global scene reminding of the importance of education for girls. The Malala Fund continues to work with local leaders to promote equal education, to support women and girls in getting an education, and in advocating for legislation to establish equal educational opportunities.

Several children’s books have been published about Malala, including in 2016 "For the Right to Learn: Malala Yousafzai’s Story."

In April 2017, she was designated a United Nations Messenger of Peace, the youngest so named.

She occasionally posts on Twitter, where she had by 2017 almost a million followers. There, in 2017, she described herself as “20 years old | advocate for girls’ education and women’s equality | UN Messenger of Peace | founder @MalalaFund.”

On September 25, 2017, Malala Yousafzai received the Wonk of the Year Award by American University and spoke there. Also in September, she was beginning her time as a college freshman, as a student at Oxford University. In typical modern fashion, she asked for advice on what to bring with a Twitter hashtag, #HelpMalalaPack.

• Nobel Peace Prize Laureates From Asia
• A List of Women With Nobel Peace Prizes
• Top 10 World News Stories of 2012
• Alice Freeman Palmer, Wellesley College President
• Profile of Jane Addams, Social Reformer and Founder of Hull House
• Chien-Shiung Wu: A Pioneering Female Physicist
• The Story of Rigoberta Menchu, the Rebel of Guatemala
• Selma Lagerlöf (1858 - 1940)
• Biography of Susan B. Anthony, Women's Suffrage Activist
• Sarojini Naidu
• Rosalind Franklin
• Ednah Dow Cheney
• Biography of Ellen Gates Starr
• Biography of Lucy Stone, Abolitionist and Women's Rights Reformer
• Top 100 Women of History

Malala Yousafzai

• Occupation: Human Rights Activist
• Born: July 12, 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan
• Best known for: Fighting for the rights of women to receive an education in Pakistan

• She was named after a famous Afghani poet and warrior named Malalai of Maiwand.
• Malala was the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. She was in chemistry class when she found out.
• Kailash Satyarthi shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Malala. He fought against child labor and slavery in India.
• The United Nations named July 12th as "World Malala Day."
• She once said "When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful."
• Listen to a recorded reading of this page:

• Donate to our Non Profit
• Join She Writer
• Special Edition Book
• Login / Signup

Stories of her by her for everyone

• She Newsmakers

Malala Yousafzai: A Nobel Inspiration

• Celebrations and Observances
• She Inspires
• Women's Empowerment

Malala Day is celebrated every year on July 12th to honor Malala Yousafzai, a brave Pakistani activist and Nobel laureate . Malala Yousafzai is famous for fighting for girls’ education and speaking out against the Taliban’s oppressive rule. At just 15 years old, she survived a gunshot to the head by a Taliban gunman while going to school. Instead of giving up, Malala Yousafzai continued her advocacy work even more determinedly.

Here are a few important facts about Malala :

Malala was born on July 12, 1997, and became the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate at age 17 when she received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for promoting girls’ education.

She began her activism at age 11 by writing a blog under a fake name, sharing her experiences under Taliban rule, and fighting for education rights.

In 2012, she was targeted by the Taliban and shot, which brought global attention. She wrote a bestselling memoir called “I Am Malala.”

Malala started the Malala Fund, a non-profit organization that empowers girls and supports their education in various countries.

On her 16th birthday, she gave a powerful speech at the United Nations, leading to the UN declaring July 12 as “Malala Day.”

Malala has received many awards, including the Sakharov Prize and honorary Canadian citizenship, for her activism.

She graduated from the University of Oxford in 2020, studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics . Malala has also advocated for refugee rights, particularly for those affected by the Syrian civil war.

She is a global symbol for youth rights and education, speaking at conferences and raising awareness.

On Malala Day, we can learn about her life, support education initiatives, share her message, and participate in local educational projects to honor her and work towards equal access to education.

Re-reported from the article originally published in News18

More Stories

Barbara Corcoran suggests that if you aspire to become a millionaire, there’s one crucial action to take: “I out-try anyone”

The National Organization for Women has taken a stance in the debate over transgender athletes

Who is Wu Yajun? She is known as the wealthiest self-made woman in China

Leave a reply cancel reply.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

You may have missed

• She Achievers

Introducing ex-Miss Universe Pia Wurtzbach: She’s a UNAids ambassador and multilingual, with German and Filipino heritage. Seen at Dior and Bulgari fashion events, she tied the knot last year despite previous vows against it.

• Record breakers

Here are five remarkable women from the Second World War who serve as inspiration:

Here are three mental exercises to counter negative thoughts and prevent overthinking

THE TRANSCRIPT

• Elisabeth Mann
• May 25, 2021

Women Making History: Malala Yousafzai

Updated: Oct 28, 2021

By: Elisabeth Mann

“Our men think earning money and ordering around others is where power lies. They don’t think power is in the hands of the woman, who takes care of everyone all day long, and gives birth to their children.” -Malala Yousafza

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in the Swat District of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She was born into a lower-middle-class family and is the daughter of Ziauddin Yousafzai and Tor Pekai Yousafzai. Her father is a poet and school owner who helped her become an educated woman. She attended the school her father administered and established. When the Taliban invaded the Swat District they began shutting down girls’ schools and banning women from being a part of society. Malala and her family fled when it became too dangerous, but returned when the violence ceased.

At a young age, Malala was interested in politics and education rights. According to Teen Vogue, Malala was eleven years old when she began blogging for BBC about her life living under occupation by the Taliban. Her blog began to gain attention and she started to make television appearances. Malala became a widely known young activist that spoke about women’s empowerment and education. The more attention she received, the more danger she faced. On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman on her way home from school. According to Britannica, she survived the shooting and was flown to Birmingham, England for surgery. The shooting became known world-wide and created a mass outpouring of support for Malala and women’s education rights. Gordon Brown, the UN special envoy for global education, introduced a petition to have all children back in school. This petition paved the way for Pakistan’s Right to Education bill. Her incident also led to Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari launching a 10 million dollar education fund.

Malala’s bravery and strength have inspired people all over the world and have encouraged people to stand up for what they believe in. She has been recognized for these achievements through winning multiple awards. According to TIME, in 2014, Malala won the Nobel Peace Prize “for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.” She was also named one of the Most Influential Teens of 2014 and 100 Most Influential People for her work in women’s rights and for starting the Malala Fund, which promotes education for young girls.

“Like millions around the world, I draw strength from brave Malala’s example… In the face of oppression and bitter injustice, she demands education and opportunity. IN the face of violence from the hands of cowards, she refuses to back down.” - Gabrielle Giffords

Malala is continuing to do activism work by speaking at universities, writing books, and meeting with political elites to discuss important issues. She has spoken in front of the United Nations and Queen Elizabeth. Malala has also spoken at Harvard University and Oxford Union. President Obama invited her to the White House and she was able to confront him about his use of drone strikes in Pakistan. On July 12, 2013, Malala spoke to the UN asking for worldwide access to education. The event was named “Malala Day” and was the first-ever youth takeover of the UN. In her speech she stated:

“The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born ... I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I'm here to speak up for the right of education for every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists.” - Malala Yousafzai

Malala is an example of a selfless and powerful leader who is willing to die for what she believes in.

“Malala Yousafzai.” Encyclopædia Britannica , Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/biography/Malala-Yousafzai.

“Malala Yousafzai: See Some of Her Best Accomplishments.” Time , Time, 12 July 2016, time.com/4402630/malala-yousafzai-accomplishments/.

Mukhopadhyay, Samhita, and Photography by Delphine Diallo. “Malala on Education, Islamophobia, and the Power of Teen Girls' Anger.” Teen Vogue , www.teenvogue.com/story/malala-yousafzai-education-islamophobia-teen-girls.

• Politics & Culture

Recent Posts

Horizons International Holds Event to in Support of Ukraine

OWU Announces Partnership with University of Navarra

WCSA Invites Student Participation

Commentaires

Malala Yousafzai Says Faith Is a "Big Part of My Life"

By Angie Jaime

Fresh off an Oscars red carpet debut following the nomination of the film Stranger at the Gate , which she executive produced, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai sat down with Muslim Girl ahead of Muslim Women's Day to talk about all things faith, activism and what’s ahead.

“I grew up in a Muslim country and a Muslim family, committed to the teachings of Islam, so faith has always been a big part of my life — and it continues to be so today,” Yousafzai said.

Her faith, she said, is the foundation of her advocacy, both in the ways it informs her famously peaceful demeanor as well as a driving source of her activism.

“I started learning the Quran with translation at around age 10 and remember that it had these powerful messages about doing good and being a virtuous person. They made a big impression on me then and have stayed with me ever since,” she said. “Islam says that you cannot stay ignorant, that you have to go and seek knowledge — no matter how hard it is, or how far you have to travel.”

For Yousafzai, a core tenant of Islam is to ensure that others do not misuse religion to do harm. “We see in Afghanistan how the Taliban is exploiting a twisted interpretation of Islam to enforce its gender apartheid regime. My faith guides me to know that it is wrong to deliberately and systematically oppress girls and women — not letting them get a haircut, see a doctor, or go for a walk in the park. Afghanistan is not the only Muslim country in the world, but it is the only country in the world that stops girls from going to school.”

As for what’s next, Yousafzai said she is doubling down on the core mission that started it all for the young activist : access to education for all youth, particularly women and girls. “With so many crises impacting our world — war, climate change, poverty, discrimination — it can be difficult to know where to lend support. But for me, education will always be a priority,” she said. “To help secure a better future, we need everyone to stay informed, stay resilient and find creative ways to take collective action on the issues they understand and care about most.”

Related: Malala Yousafzai and Husband Are the Ultimate “She’s Barbie and He’s Just Ken” Duo

By Sarah Akaaboune

By Teen Vogue Style Team

By P. Claire Dodson

By Kaitlyn McNab

• Skip to main content
• Keyboard shortcuts for audio player

The Picture Show

The work and legacy of photographer anja niedringhaus endure 10 years after her death.

Hannah Bloch

Virginia Lozano

In this photo made by Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, an Afghan boy flies his kite on a hill overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan, May 13, 2013. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

In this photo made by Associated Press photographer Anja Niedringhaus, an Afghan boy flies his kite on a hill overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan, May 13, 2013.

"I do my job simply to report people's courage with my camera and with my heart," Anja Niedringhaus said in 2005.

The acclaimed German photojournalist, known best for her work covering conflict for The Associated Press in the Middle East and Afghanistan, was killed 10 years ago, on April 4, 2014, while on assignment covering Afghanistan's elections. An Afghan policeman shot her as she sat in a car with close friend and colleague Kathy Gannon, AP's longtime senior correspondent in Afghanistan and Pakistan, who was also shot and survived the attack with severe wounds.

An Afghan female prisoner, Nuria, with her infant boy at Badam Bagh, Afghanistan's central women's prison, in Kabul, March 28, 2013. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

An Afghan female prisoner, Nuria, with her infant boy at Badam Bagh, Afghanistan's central women's prison, in Kabul, March 28, 2013.

U.S. Marine Cpl. Burness Britt reacts after being lifted onto a U.S. Army medevac helicopter, June 4, 2011. Britt was wounded in Afghanistan's Helmand province. Niedringhaus held Britt's hand in the helicopter and noticed a piece of wheat stuck to his shirt. She picked it up and saved it, then gave it to him months later when she visited him in the hospital. He told her it was his lucky charm. Anja Niedringhaus/ASSOCIATED PRESS hide caption

Iraqi women reach out with empty water containers as British soldiers arrive to supply the outskirts of Iraq's southern city of Basra with drinking water, April 4, 2003. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

On Thursday, the Bronx Documentary Center in New York City is launching a new book and exhibition of Niedringhaus' work, co-curated by Gannon. A ceremony at the center will honor Palestinian freelance photojournalist Samar Abu Elouf with the Anja Niedringhaus Courage In Photojournalism Award , given by the International Women's Media Foundation.

Niedringhaus' Pulitzer Prize-winning "work helped define the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya," AP photo editors Jacqueline Larma and Enric Marti write . "And despite her reputation as a war photographer, very often she found beauty and joy on assignment — even in those difficult places where she spent so much time. And especially in the place where she ultimately lost her life."

Niedringhaus' images show glimpses of daily life, tenderness, humor and tragedy. "She wasn't covering a war. She wasn't covering a country. She was covering a people," Gannon tells CNN.

"I could have stayed out of trouble most of my life," Niedringhaus said in 2005 , "but always have been drawn to the people, no matter where, who suffer in difficult situations."

Here is a selection of Anja Niedringhaus' work — indelible images that continue to resonate today.

A nomad kisses his young daughter while watching his herd in Marjah, Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 20, 2012. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

Palestinians enjoy a ride at an amusement park outside Gaza City, March 26, 2006. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

Hundreds of Afghans wait to see the holy flag at the Kart-e Sakhi mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 21, 2013. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

Hundreds of Afghans wait to see the holy flag at the Kart-e Sakhi mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 21, 2013.

An Afghan woman holds her newborn baby wrapped in her burqa as she waits to get in line to try on a new burqa in a shop in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 11, 2013. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

Pakistani Army soldiers with the 20th Lancers Armored Regiment gather before a patrol atop the 8,000-foot mountain near their outpost along the Pakistan-Afghan border, Feb. 20, 2012. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

An Afghan soldier, left, and a policeman peek through a window as they queue with others to get their registration cards on the last day of voter registration for presidential elections, outside a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 1, 2014. Niedringhaus was killed on April 4, 2014. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

An Afghan soldier, left, and a policeman peek through a window as they queue with others to get their registration cards on the last day of voter registration for presidential elections, outside a school in Kabul, Afghanistan, April 1, 2014. Niedringhaus was killed on April 4, 2014.

An Afghan man with his five children on his motorbike pays money to enter a park in Kandahar, southern Afghanistan, Nov. 1, 2013. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

A young Pakistani girl works on her midterm papers in a school in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan, on Oct. 5, 2013, a year after Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

An Afghan carpet seller holds up a framed carpet in his store depicting Hamid Karzai in Kabul, Afghanistan, March 30, 2014. Anja Niedringhaus/AP hide caption

• Anja Niedringhaus
• Photojournalism
• Afghanistan

Good Good Good

88 Best Quotes About Books & Reading

Posted: December 1, 2023 | Last updated: January 5, 2024

Malala Yousafzai

Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice

Charles Baudelaire

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

Virginia Woolf, A Room of One's Own

Maya Angelou

Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451

Walt Disney

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Charles W. Eliot

Arnold Lobel

Kate DiCamillo

LeVar Burton

Louis L'Amour

François Mauriac

Diane Duane, So You Want to Be a Wizard

Stéphane Mallarmé

Alice Hoffman

Honoré de Balzac

Carlos Ruiz Zafón, The Shadow of the Wind

Annie Proulx

Benjamin Franklin

Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis

Dr. Seuss, I Can Read With My Eyes Shut!

More for you.

Cole Brings Plenty: Yellowstone 1923 actor found dead days after going missing

Women's Final Four winners, losers: Gabbie and 'Swatkins' step up; UConn's offense stalls

The Exact Time to Quit Your Job, According to Chief HR Officer

Here's What Happens When You Keep a Car For Over a Decade

7 CDs You Probably Owned, Threw Out and Now Are Worth Bank

20 Personal Things You Should Never Share With Others

Trump saved millions by keeping court in dark about billionaire's bond offer: report

15 “As Seen On TV” Products That Are Well Worth The Money

15 Most Valuable Wheat Pennies, Ranked

Ukraine Rues Missed F-16 Opportunity

I’m a Mechanic: 4 Signs You’re Buying a Lemon

Use this 2-word phrase when your boss asks you to do more work than you have time to do, according to a therapist

Spirit Lake Tribe declares State of Emergency, enters lockdown

108 Sarcastic Quotes That Are the Perfect Mix of Witty and Clever

Kristi Noem, South Dakota governor, banned from second reservation in state

This new 'blended-wing' plane looks like a military stealth bomber and just got the green light to fly after decades of development

9 Insider Secrets You Should Know From a Goodwill Employee

17 Workplace Norms Millennials Won’t Accept Anymore

I Lost White Friends When I Finally Spoke Out

18 Smartest Dog Breeds, Ranked for Intelligence