WebProNews

Search results for: “yousafzai”

  • Emma Watson Helped Malala Yousafzai Come To Terms With Calling Herself A Feminist

    Emma Watson has become the face of modern feminism in recent years.

    After a couple of very inspiring speeches on the subject and last year’s launch of the HeForShe campaign, Emma Watson and her work in the feminist movement has inspired many women and girls to push forward and break down walls.

    To the list of most notable people to be inspired by Emma Watson can now be added activist and Taliban survivor Malala Yousafzai.

    Malala Yousafzai was, of course, shot in the face by Taliban operatives at 14 because she refused to stop going to school. They threatened the action because Malala is a girl and for no other reason.

    Now, Malala has told her story, won a Nobel peace prize and inspired many, like Emma Watson herself.

    Recently at the premiere of He Named Me Malala , a documentary about the Taliban attack and her life, Malala spoke to Emma Watson about her new-found comfort with the term “feminist”.

    Today I met Malala. She was giving, utterly graceful, compelling and intelligent. That might sound obvious but I was…

    Posted by Emma Watson on Wednesday, November 4, 2015

    Malala Yousafzai said, “This word, feminism, it has been a very tricky word and when I heard it the first time, I heard some negative responses and some positive ones.”

    #Repost @sarahslutsky with @repostapp. ・・・ Television junket continues! Love this chic little @Erdemlondon dress created from fabrics sourced in Italy and produced in Portugal! The suppliers and producers of these bad-ass boots by @Alexawagnershoes are located in Milan. Alexa Wagner is proud of their quality control systems, the excellent workspace and atmosphere provided for their employees. Jewels from @MoniquePean who strives to raise awareness of art, culture and global environmental issues through design, and is committed to partnering with artisans around the world to support traditional craftsmanship. Love this Feminine/Masculin Bag (because traits of both is beautiful!) by @clarevivier who roots herself in the Los Angeles design community, where her line has been made exclusively since 2008. Team on #beauty @charlottehayward @visapyyapy

    A photo posted by Emma Watson (@emmawatson) on

    She added, “I hesitated in saying am I a feminist or not and then after hearing your speech, when you said ‘if not now, when? If not me, who?’ I decided that there’s no way and there’s nothing wrong by calling yourself a feminist, and I am a feminist.”

    What do you think about Emma Watson’s ever-expanding influence in the world of feminism?

  • Emma Watson, Nobel Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai Join Forces to Champion Equality For Women

    Emma Watson and the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai have used their powerful voices to champion equality for women.

    According to the Christian Science Monitor, the Harry Potter actress, 25 and Yousafzai sat down for an interview Tuesday at the premiere of the documentary, He Named Me Malala, which chronicles the 18-year-old Pakistani education activist’s fight for girls and stars Watson, who serves as the interviewer.

    The 23-minute video was posted on Watson’s Facebook page and has now been viewed nearly 4 million times.

    Today I met Malala. She was giving, utterly graceful, compelling and intelligent. That might sound obvious but I was…

    Posted by Emma Watson on Wednesday, November 4, 2015

    In the video, Emma Watson, a UN ambassador for women, and Yousafzai bonded over many topics, including their brothers, Hillary Clinton, their love for the book A Thousand Splendid Suns, and most importantly, the definition of feminism.

    “This word ‘feminist’ has been a very tricky word,” said Malala, to which Watson gasped in delight.

    When I heard it for the first time, Malala goes on, “I hesitated in saying ‘I’m a feminist.’”

    “Then after hearing your speech, when you said, ‘if not now, when? if not me, who?’,” Malala says, referring to Watson’s landmark UN speech about men participating in feminism, “I decided there’s nothing wrong with calling yourself a feminist. I am a feminist, and we all should be feminists because feminism is another word for equality.”

    Time magazine reports that Emma Watson said the most profound moment of their interview was when Yousafzai identified herself as a feminist, saying that she was surprised to hear the Yousafzai use the hot-button word.

    “I think this gesture is so emblematic of what Malala and I went on to discuss. I’ve spoken before on what a controversial word feminism is currently,” Emma Watson wrote on Facebook. “I want to make it a welcoming and inclusive movement. Let’s join our hands and move together so we can make real change. Malala and I are pretty serious about it but we need you.”

  • Mindy Kaling Mistaken for Malala Yousafzai by Old Man

    Malala Yousafzai is 17 years old. She is Pakistani, a survivor of a gunshot wound to the face from the Taliban, and a hero to girls throughout the world. Her first name has become a household word in multiple countries.

    Mindy Kaling is an American actress whose parents come from India. She is well-known for her role on the American version of The Office, as well as her own show, The Mindy Project. She is 35.

    They both have caramel-colored skin and dark hair. Mindy is no doubt a delightful person, but she is not Malala Yousafzai. But you could’ve fooled that “tipsy man in his 80s” who cornered her at the New Yorker Festival earlier this month.

    Kaling was at the event for a live festival Q&A with New Yorker writer Emily Nussbaum. Other celebrities and notable persons interviewed during the Festival included Neil Young, Lena Dunham, Edward Snowden (via video), Bill HAder, Stephen Sondheim, Seth Rogen, Larry David, and Kim Dotcom (also via video).

    After the onstage interview at the festival, Kaling headed to an after-event party at the Top of the Standard, a rooftop bar better known as the Boom Boom Room. It was packed with guests like novelist Zadie Smith, writer Malcolm Gladwell and New Yorker editor-in-chief David Remnick

    “Who are all these people?” Kaling wondered at the non-Hollywood crowd she had stumbled into.

    Apparently she was a bit difficult to recognize for some of them.

    “Congratulations on your Nobel Prize,” the aforementioned “tipsy man in his 80s” told Kaling.

    The man seemed amazed at how well Kaling/Malala had recovered form the gunshots to the face she had received at the hands of the Taliban two years earlier.

    After a bit more chitchat, during which Kaling never bothered to try to disabuse the poor fellow of his mistaken notion, he swayed off into the room.

    “Did he really think I’m Malala?” she said when the man had gone. “And that if I were, I’d be at the Boom Boom Room?

    “That’s the best thing that’s happened all night.”

  • Mindy Kaling Mistaken for Malala Yousafzai

    Mindy Kaling of The Mindy Project and The Office fame experienced a case of mistaken identity at a party recently. She was in New York, attending an after-party for The New Yorker Festival when a man in his 80s–who had likely had a bit too much to drink–began showering her with praise.

    When he said, “Congratulations on your Nobel Prize!” Kaling knew he had the wrong person.

    Prior to his congratulations, however, the man praised Mindy Kaling for her bravery and for her impressive recovery from gunshot wounds inflicted by the Taliban. It was after he stopped talking that a nearby writer helped Kaling undertand what had likely just happened.

    “Did he really think I’m Malala?” Kaling, who is of Indian decent, asked the NYT writer after the bizarre accolades were recited. “And that if I were, I’d be at the Boom Boom Room? That’s the best thing that’s happened all night.”

    The Today Show’s Willie Geist got in on the fun a few days later when he tweeted this message to Mindy Kaling.

    Kaling sent her own Twitter reply.

    Malala Yousafzai is, of course, the 17-year-old Pakistani activist for education for girls and women. She was shot by the Taliban as a result of her activism, and is the youngest person ever to have received a Nobel Prize. Mindy Kaling admitted that although she may have been mistaken for Malala that the two are very different.

    “I was, like, stressing out about getting into college, like a nerd,” she said of what she was doing at the age of 17.

    Most people were. Mindy Kaling might be a very entertaining actress, but she knows she’s no Nobel Prize winner. And she certainly has no qualms about giving credit where credit is due.

  • Lady Gaga Would Forfeit Glamour Cover To Malala Yousafzai

    Lady Gaga is featured on the December cover of Glamour Magazine as one of their Women of the Year, looking impossibly thin and perfect like all celebrities do. But the singer says she takes issue with the way she is portrayed, not only because of the way she looks, but because she thinks the real cover girl was another honoree: Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year old Pakistani activist who was shot in the head by members of the Taliban last year because she was fighting for the education of females in her country.

    “Who really belongs on the cover is not me. If I could forfeit my Glamour cover, I would give it to Malala,” she said at the awards ceremony in New York on Monday night. “You’re so inspiring, so young and so brilliant. Malala used her voice, so I’m going to use mine … The picture, which I’m very grateful for and very happy to be on this cover, I felt it was too beautiful. I felt my skin looked too perfect, and my hair looked too soft. This is not usually how I dress or how I carry myself.”

    Gaga said she wanted to stress to her fans–especially impressionable young girls–that the magazine covers they see every day are not representational of real life.

    “I believe my true mission is to inspire young people to fight back against forces that make them feel like they’re not beautiful or important,” she said. “I do not look like this when I wake up in the morning…It is fair to write about the change in your magazines. But what I want to see is the change on your covers … When the covers change, that’s when culture changes.”

    Gaga’s words weren’t taken as an insult by the magazine, which issued a statement about her speech.

    “We love the cover — which captures exactly the way Gaga looked at our shoot — but we think her bigger point, that women like Malala Yousafzai are also cover-worthy, is RIGHT ON, and we couldn’t agree more. We’re proud of the diversity of women we show on our pages, and the diversity of opinions they represent — frankly, Gaga’s willingness to challenge how American institutions think is a major reason we honored her to begin with.”

    Image: Glamour

  • Christiane Amanpour Interviews Malala Yousafzai Who Defied Pakistani Terror

    Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who defied Pakistani terrorists, and almost lost her life to defend freedom and women’s right to education, was interviewed by famed journalist and opinion moulder Christiane Amanpour this week. The full interview will be aired as a special report “The Bravest Girl in the World” on CNN this Sunday at 7 p.m. ET.

    Yousafzai has become the global face of oppressed Pakistani and Asian women who are quietly mobilizing by the millions to fight for equal rights and universal secular education. Malala was shot in the head in a barbaric assassination attempt by Pakistani terrorists on October 9, 2012, while she was returning home from her school.

    The brave teenager’s life was saved at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, where she underwent intensive rehabilitation, that helped recover her mental faculties, her hearing and speech. The assassination attempt did not kill Malala, but only made her stronger.

    She has redoubled her efforts since February this year to spread worldwide awareness on the inhuman treatment of women in Pakistan and West-Asia and the challenges they face to their dignity in daily life. On July 12, she spoke in front of the United Nations on the power of girl child education, and why pen is mightier than the sword. She has been feted with accolades, honors and awards across the globe including this year’s nomination for Nobel Peace Prize.

    During the interview, Amanpour asked Malala whether she hoped to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Malala responded, “If I get the Nobel Peace Prize, I think it will be such a great honor, and more than I deserve, and such a great responsibility as well…It would help me to begin this campaign for girls’ education, but the real goal, the most precious goal that I want to get and for which I am thirsty and I want to struggle hard for, that is the award of seeing every child to go to school.”

    She added, that being shot had only strengthened her resolve:

    “They can only shoot a body, they cannot shoot my dreams…They shot me because they wanted to tell me that, ‘we want to kill you and to stop you campaigning’, but they did the biggest mistake: they inured me, and they told me through that attack, that even death is supporting me, even death does not want to kill me.”

    And in a clear warning to Pakistan’s patriarchal society, she made her ambitious clear:

    “I want to become a Prime Minister of Pakistan, and I think it’s really good. Because through politics I can serve my whole county. I can be the doctor of the whole country…I can spend much of the money from the budget on education…

    International organizations and leaders have rallied to Malala’s clarion call for women’s freedom and education rights, and here is what Malala had to say at an event hosted by World Bank today:

    As Malala’s heroic speeches and worldwide campaign for women gains steam, Pakistani terrorists are increasingly desperate to hold back human progress. The world is watching, but the world must also act – to help young girls like Malala, as they yearn to breathe free.

    [image from youtube]

  • Malala Yousafzai: Books Are Anti-Terrorism “Weapons”

    Tuesday, at the opening of the largest public library in Europe, 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai praised pens and books as, “the weapons that defeat terrorism.” The Pakistani teen, who gained attention when she was shot by the Taliban for advocating education for girls, is now one of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize nominees. Take that, Taliban!

    “Let us not forget that even one book, one pen, one child and one teacher can change the world,” said Yousafzai. The last book to enter the library was her copy of Paulo Coelho’s, The Alchemist, which tells the story of an Andalusian shepherd boy with lessons about listening to our hearts and ultimately following our dreams.

    The new library (pictured below) is located in the town where Yousafzai attends school, Birmingham, England. The building now houses over a million books and the opening drew a crowd 1,000-strong.

    (image)

    Yousafzai has given herself a challenge, “I will read thousands of books, and I will empower myself with knowledge.” She said further, “I truly believe the only way we can create global peace is through educating not only our minds, but our hearts and our souls.”

    Yousafzai used this opportunity to call for peace and to, “speak up for the children of Pakistan, India and Afghanistan who are suffering from terrorism, poverty, child labor and child trafficking.”

    Last October, after a Taliban gunman shot Yousafzai in the head on her school bus, she was flown from Pakistan to the UK for emergency treatment. Tuesday, she thanked the medical staff, teachers and townspeople for supporting her in, “my second home,” of Birmingham.

    The teen inspiration is due to receive the International Children’s Peace Prize later this week. On her birthday in July, she experienced a different sort of present, addressing the UN’s youth assembly; the day was declared Malala Day. She has also garnered a place as one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” and though not apparently directly affiliated, her story has sparked new age heroines of all sorts.

    [Images via Facebook Fan Page and Wikimedia Commons.]

  • Emma Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch Are Oxford-Bound

    Emma Watson and Benedict Cumberbatch are both Oxford-bound. Are the actors continuing their education at the prestigious university?

    While they likely could do so, should they wish, that’s not what this is about. Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Watson have been appointed as visiting fellows at Lady Margaret Hall at Oxford University instead.

    Time magazine reports the Harry Potter actress known for her role as Hermione Granger, and the star of The Imitation Game have duties that come with this honor.

    Alan Rusbridger, the college’s principal, explains.

    “At a minimum, we’d like them to drop in occasionally at college, eat with us and meet informally with a variety of the LMH community,” he says. “We’d like them to do one thing a bit more structured. It could be a conversation or debate, a performance, a lecture or seminar, a form of outreach – or something we haven’t thought of. We can imagine fascinating interactions or collaborations between them.”

    “They are welcome to come and stay in college if they’d like a place temporarily to think or work,” Rusbridger adds. “And some have already suggested other ways in which they might engage with a body of 700 incredibly smart students and tutors in order to stimulate their own thinking or work in progress.”

    Emma Watson has long been very vocal about the importance of a good college education. A 2014 Brown University graduate, she once interviewed Malala Yousafzai, who strongly believes in the power of education.

    Benedict Cumberbatch and Emma Watson are among nine such fellows at Oxford. Part of their duties will include helping students transition into various professions.

    How amazing would it be to have Emma Watson or Benedict Cumberbatch help you make strides toward a successful future?

  • ‘The Daily Show’s’ Jon Stewart: No Jokes, Talks Charleston Church Shooting

    The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart became serious in a rare moment on Thursday. A somber mood overtook both the host and the show as Stewart spent five and a half minutes delivering a somber monologue about the Charleston church shooting.

    “I have one job and it’s a pretty simple job,” Jon Stewart said Thursday night as he launched into his thoughts on the massacre that took place at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston. “I come in the morning and we look at the news, and I write jokes about it.”

    “But I didn’t do my job today. So I apologize,” the Daily Show host continued. “I got nothing for you…because of what happened in South Carolina.”

    Jon Stewart expressed his heartache and exuded a sense of despair when he looked to the coming days and what he expects will amount to ‘a largely non-response by Americans to the attack.’

    He said he is baffled by “the disparity of response between when we think people that are foreign are going to kill us and us killing ourselves,” referring, of course, to the threat of Islamist extremism, both in the U.S. and abroad.

    “This is a terrorist attack,” Stewart said of the Charleston shooting. “This is a violent attack on the Emanuel church in South Carolina, which is a symbol for the black community. It has stood in that part of Charleston for a hundred and some years and has been attacked viciously many times as many black churches have.”

    The one time in this monologue that Jon Stewart elicited laughter from his audience came in a moment of bittersweet truth that likely hit everyone who listened to him right between the eyes. If it didn’t, then it fell on deaf ears.

    “I’m confident, though, that by acknowledging it and staring into that, and seeing it for what it is–we still won’t do jack s–t,” he said.

    In keeping with the somber mood of the evening, Jon Stewart segued from his monologue about the Charleston church shooting into an interview with 17-year-old Nobel peace prize-winner and human rights activist, Malala Yousafzai.

    Those who follow Jon Stewart and are fans of The Daily Show no doubt realize they captured a rare segment where reality trumped humor–and Stewart slammed racism in this country–hard.

  • Malia Obama: Stanford or Berkeley Bound?

    Malia Obama: Stanford or Berkeley Bound?

    Malia Obama has reached that pivotal point in most teenager’s lives when it’s time to seriously consider the colleges to which she’ll apply. The 16-year-old daughter of President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama will head off to college in the fall of 2016.

    President Obama has said in the past that Malia wants to be a filmmaker. The media reported last summer that Malia Obama toured two northern California rivals–both Stanford University and the University of California, Berkeley.

    Berkeley, of course, is California’s flagship public university. It is known as a liberal enclave. It also has an internationally renown department of film and media.

    Stanford is a private university in Palo Alto, and is a far more conservative school. Chelsea Clinton and some Supreme Court justices including Sandra Day O’Connor graduated from there. At Stanford, students can major or minor in film and media studies. The university has more NCAA championships than any other U.S. school. Malia Obama is known as an athlete, excelling at tennis, so she might be a good fit for “Nerd Nation.” That’s the unofficial nickname for Stanford’s sports fans.

    Malia Obama certainly has a wealth of fodder for her college essay. She’s lived in the White House since she was just 10 years old, and that alone must be an education of sorts. She’s had a front-row seat to her father’s two presidential campaigns. She has traveled around the world, and met world figures such as Queen Elizabeth, Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai.

    Malia Obama’s parents are Harvard-educated lawyers with Ivy League undergraduate degrees–the president’s from Columbia and Michelle Obama’s from Princeton. That said, expectations for Malia undoubtedly run high.

    David Hawkins is an official at the National Association for College Admission Counseling in Arlington, Virginia. What did he have to say about Malia Obama with regard to her college applications?

    “Given the educational attainment of her parents, which is exceptional in itself, I can only assume she is going to be a bright and well-qualified student,” he said.

    What do you predict? Will Malia Obama be heading to Stanford or to Berkeley? Or might she surprise everyone and head somewhere completely unexpected?

  • Kendall Jenner: Kourtney Kardashian Reportedly Warns Her Against Being a Homewrecker

    After the mess that was Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom, and may still be, rumor has it that sister Kourtney Kardashian is trying to be the level-headed one in the bunch.

    OKMagazine reports that Kourtney, who is in a long-term relationship with Scott Disick that has produced two children and a third on the way, has warned little sister Kendall to check herself and stay away from men who are taken.

    “Kourtney’s worried over Kendall’s choice in men and can’t believe she’d so blatantly steal or even flirt with another girl’s guy,” the insider told OK. “She totally tore into her over it, begging her to wake up and stop it right now before she gets an even worse reputation.”

    This insider reportedly linked Kourtney’s advice directly to the difficulties that their sister had gone through with Odom.

    “Kourtney pointed out that with all the hell Khloe’s been through with a cheating husband, Kendall should know better,” the insider said. “It just doesn’t look good.”

    The sisterly advice supposedly comes on the heels of some social media buzz about Kendall going to dinner with Justin Bieber, who was linked with Selena Gomez at the time. The dinner sparked a strong reaction from Gomez, after which Bieber has reportedly been trying to get back in her good graces.

    Hollywood Life reports that Gomez regrets “overreacting,” according to another insider.

    “She hasn’t said that she’s going to take him back but that’s usually how it goes once they get back in touch. She’s been saying stuff about how she overreacted and how she has to take responsibility for her part in things so it definitely seems like she’s opened her heart up to him again.”

    When Time Magazine listed Kendall and Kylie Jenner among their Top 25 Most Influential Teens of 2014, right among names like Sahsa and Malia Obama, Nash Grier (founder of Vine), and hero Malala Yousafzai, a backlash ensued.

    According to the Daily Mail, the Jenner sisters were not welcome alongside the likes Malala, transgender pioneer Jazz Jennings, and chef Flynn McGarry.

    Perhaps this kind of bad press is what Kourtney had in mind when she advised her sister to watch her behavior. It is one thing to have a loyal following of KUWTK fans who keep feeding that machine. But to step out and risk ruining other high-profile relationships can invite scrutiny that can bring down empires.

  • Kendall Jenner and Sister: Should They Be on ‘Time’ Magazine’s List?

    Kendall Jenner and little sis Kylie Jenner made Time magazine’s list of ‘Most Influential Teens.’ Some people don’t believe the Keeping Up With the Kardashians stars deserve a spot on the list. What do you think?

    Amidst the naysayers, however, is supporter Wendy Williams. The talk show host points out why Kylie and Kendall Jenner made the list.

    “They are influential to teens!” Williams said on her talk show last week. “Either teen girls want to look like them…or dress like them.”

    “They follow them on Instagram. They should be on this list, that’s all!” she added.

    Kylie and Kendall Jenner were beyond thrilled–and quite honored–when they learned they landed a spot on Times ‘Most Influential Teens’ list.

    “We are so honored to be included on the Time magazine list of ‘Most Influential Teens,’” Kendall and Kylie Jenner said during an interview with E! .”There are incredible teens on this list and we are so proud to be in their company.”

    Time said of the two girls, “Together, the Keeping Up With the Kardashians co-stars hosted red-carpet events, released clothing and nail polish lines and even published a dystopian young-adult novel this past summer (though yes, they had some help). But they’ve had solo success too—Kendall with modeling (she’s walked the runway for designers like Marc Jacobs) and Kylie with pseudo-entrepreneurship (she’s launching a line of hair extensions and hopes to get into acting).”

    No, Kylie and Kendall Jenner didn’t earn a Nobel Peace Prize, like Malala Yousafzai, who is the youngest to ever have won one. She won for her activism for women’s education. Others making the list include New Zealand singer Lorde, Little League baseball star Mo’ne Davis, Malia Obama, Jaden Smith, and Austin Mahone.

    Oh, come on–if Austin Mahone and Jaden Smith made this list, how can anyone question the validity of Kylie and Kendall Jenner making it, too?

  • Women’s Day 2014 Gets Google Doodle

    Women’s Day 2014 Gets Google Doodle

    Google is celebrating International Women’s Day 2014 with a doodle, and featuring a video with women from around the world.

    Google says in a Google+ post, “Happy International Women’s Day! Celebrated every year on March 8, we’re getting started a little early with our doodle, now live on homepages around the world. This truly international doodle features 100+ inspiring women from around the world, including the President of Lithuania, a brave Pakistani education activist, the most recorded artist in music history and an ever-curious explorer.”

    The full list of featured women (in order of appearance) is as follows:

    • Cee Chatpawee, TV host, IT Princess, Thailand
    • Chinaza Godwin Christiana, Student, Nigeria
    • Easkey Britton, Surfer and the first woman to surf in Iran, PhD and doctoral candidate, Ireland
    • Rahimah Yussof, Developer group leader, Brunei
    • Chen Yuhong, School teacher, China
    • Naho Okamoto, Jewelry designer, Japan
    • Mary Kom, Five-time World Boxing champion, India
    • Funlayo Adewale, Canteen owner, Nigeria
    • Jennifer Luo & Yi-hsin Chen, Mothers to be, Taiwan
    • Alifiyah Ganjee, Developer group leader, Kenya
    • Karnataka State Home Guard, India
    • Ana Cecilia Castillo, Developer group leader, Guatemala
    • Rivka Carmi, President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel
    • Camila Batmanghelidjh, Founded the place2be and Kids Company, caring for 17,000 children, UK/Iran
    • Dalia Grybauskaitė, President of Lithuania
    • Sarah Sechan, TV personality and entertainer, Indonesia
    • Shoko Uemura, Under-23 Women’s Football Team member, Japan
    • Janet Mock, Trans woman rights activist and author, USA
    • Harusoga Fujima, Professional Nihon Buyo dancer (traditional dance), Japan
    • Mara Gabrilli, Congresswoman & Brazil’s spokesperson for people with disabilities, Brazil
    • Maria da Penha, Women’s rights advocate, named the law protecting women from domestic violence, Brazil
    • Viviane Senna, Entrepreneur and founder of NGOs, Brazil
    • Marta Silva, Awarded multiple times by FIFA golden ball as best female soccer player in the world, Brazil
    • Students, Guatemala
    • Maia Sandu, Minister of education, Moldova
    • Chamki, Adventurous and inquisitive schoolgirl muppet, India
    • Christine Van Broeckhoven, Molecular biologist, Belgium
    • Tanha Islam, Aspiring engineer, Bangladesh
    • Jake Feinler, Former head of Network Information Center at Stanford and Internet Hall of Fame member, USA
    • Iryna Velychko, Galyna Korniyenko & Marina Derkach, Developer group organizers, Ukraine
    • Marisa Millán, Proud grandma, Spain
    • Noelle Wenceslao, Janet Belarmino & Carina Dayondon, First Filipinas to climb Mount Everest, Philippines
    • Clarisse Reille, Managing Director of French Professional Committee for Apparel Economy Development, France
    • Gesche Joost, Professor of Design Research and one of Germany’s “100 masterminds of tomorrow”, Germany
    • Dora, Explorer
    • Nogah Dufresne, Multinational baby, France/Israel
    • Tooba Shaikh, Aspiring Developer, Pakistan
    • Katelyn Donnelly, Executive Director of the Pearson Affordable Learning Fund, USA/UK
    • Catherine Koo, Chairlady of United Christian College Parents Teachers Association, Hong Kong
    • Roba Al Assi, Blogger, Jordan
    • SOS Lambrate, Ambulance volunteers, Italy
    • Camila Bernal Villegas, Director of the CRAN Foundation and cancer survivor, Colombia
    • Malala Yousafzai, Education activist, Pakistan
    • Ashaji, Holds a Guinness World Record as most recorded artist in music history, India
    • Nonna Grishaeva, Actress, comedian and singer, Russia
    • Ndileka Xameni, Runs an orphanage, South africa
    • İpek Hanım’s Farm, Business woman turned farmer and her village , Turkey
    • Prof. Jacqueline A. Oduol, Gender expert fighting for Women’s and children’s rights, Kenya
    • Martha Debayle, Radio personality, named one of the 50th most powerful women in Mexico by Forbes, Mexico
    • Alenka Godec, One of the most prominent jazz and pop singers in Slovenia, Slovenia
    • Zakeeya Patel, Actress, dancer and winner of South Africa’s Strictly Come Dancing 2013, South Africa
    • Astrid Sartiasari, Singer, Indonesia
    • Jenny Chan, Ella Wong & Ching Hoi Man, Spokeswomen, Hong Kong
    • Isadora Faber, Education activist, 14 years old, Brazil
    • Refiloe Khaoli, Copyrighter, South Africa
    • Serena Gu, Grace Liang & Sharon Tam, University start-ups advocates, Hong Kong
    • Anne Geddes, Renowned photographer and women’s advocate, Australia
    • Cecilia Chung, Social justice & human rights activist, HK/US
    • Diaa Elyaacoubi, Serial entrepreneur, named Entrepreneur of the Year 2004, France
    • Ros Juan, Entrepreneur and Social advocate, Philippines
    • Funmi Victor-Okigbo, Events Production Designer, Nigeria
    • Chen Junlan and QiQiGe, Office workers andproudd mothers, China
    • Tarryn Tomlinson, Inspiring quadriplegic working with disadvantaged youth, South Africa
    • Zahira Asmal, Founder of Design South Africa, South Africa
    • Foluso Olaniyan, Agricultural pioneer, Nigeria
    • Jirawadee Sudta, Awarded National Excellent Youth in law and protection of children’s rights, Thailand

    More on International Women’s Day here. Inspiring Change is the global hub’s theme for 2014.

    Image via Google

  • Taliban Holding Dog Hostage…Whose Dog?

    Taliban Holding Dog Hostage…Whose Dog?

    What terrible words can one say about the extremist organization known as the Taliban that has not be repeated a million times in many different languages? I doubt I can think of any new ones, but I can say that this latest episode involving members of this organization is a twist that is so bizarre and ridiculous that it leaves one momentarily speechless.

    In a new video, Afghan Taliban members are bragging that they have successfully captured a military dog. As in they have kidnapped and they are holding a dog hostage.

    A dog.

    A furry, frightened, four-legged little animal that knows nothing about jihads, America, or the fact that the light you shine on the bedroom wall isn’t actually tangible.

    The video was posted on the insurgent’s website and later on the Facebook page, in which members claim that they took a military dog belonging to the United States. The little dog which they say is named “Colonel”, actually does not belong to any branch of the United States military. It is believed that the dog belongs to the British forces, however it’s not absolutely certain.

    Let’s continue suspending disbelief for just a moment and actually dare to indulge these individuals. They captured an American military dog. What reaction were they hoping for?

    Given all the heinous acts of human rights violations already perpetrated by members of the Taliban, is the idea that such persons could harm a helpless animal supposed to be shocking? Did they think a rescue mission would be staged? Did they think that the American military would be moved to barter for the freedom of a dog? That the US government would stop what it was doing and focus its attention on this either desperate or insane (or an odd combination of both…) act and take them that much more seriously.

    And now that disbelief is no longer suspended, I will say that I don’t know whether I feel terrified for the dog (because we are trusting these people are telling the truth and that this animal is in danger and not someone’s pet…) and angry that anyone would threaten a dog with violence under any circumstances or ready to fall in the floor and laugh myself into a coma at the idea of this being something that is supposed to strike terror into my heart: “We have kidnaped your dog. FEAR US!”

    Perhaps we should feel a bit of both towards this terrorist group. Clearly there is desperation involved if you’re willing to grab at anything, no matter how seemingly pointless to get at your enemy. And the idea of threatening a dog, which has no idea who you and what you’re trying to accomplish, is absolutely insane. Desperation and insanity are a lethal combination. And the presence of such a combination makes even the most ludicrous of situations scary.

    There’s no telling what will happen to Colonel, but as stated, given the members of this organizations treatment of other human beings, it does not look good. The most we can hope is that it’s staged propaganda and one way or another, the dog is part of this bizarre scenario.

    Image via GeoBeats News

  • Lady Gaga, Britney Spears Hang Out In Vegas

    Fame Monster singer Lady Gaga has collided with the ‘Pop Princess’!

    According to E! News, on Saturday, Feb. 1, Lady Gaga made a stop in Vegas to watch pop sensation Britney Spears take the stage at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood for one of her two-year residency concerts.

    The two singers also took to Twitter sharing an on-going conversation throughout the day, prior to the concert. Spears tweeted hours before the show asking fans if they could guess who’d be coming to her concert later that evening.

    Gaga later shared her anticipation of seeing Spears hit the stage, revealing that she’d be wearing “long blonde hair and androgynous wear” for the concert.

    The “Bad Romance” singer even shared a picture of long tresses with fans before leaving for the concert. “Spears simply gushed in anticipation of seeing the “Applause” singer!

    However, that wasn’t Spears’ only tweet in regards to Gaga. On Thurs., Jan. 30, she also dropped a hint that she’d be seeing the “Do What U Want” singer really soon.

    The publication also revealed that the two actually got a chance to spend some “one-on-one” time together after the show. They even shared a few pictures for the fans. Later that night, Gaga posted the first picture with Spears via Facebook.

    She wrote, “Me and Brit Brit http://bplane.co/yTFeXu #Applause4Britney Britney Spears we had so much fun at your show!”

    “And Britney’s dad gave us homeade BBQ, it was one of the best things I’ve ever eatin’ in my LIFE,” she exclaimed.

    (image)

    According to UPI, barbecue hasn’t been their only topic of discussion lately. They’ve also spoke briefly of a possible collaboration. Back in December,  Spears said that she’d be “open” to the possibility of doing a collaboration with Gaga. “I would do a duet with Lady Gaga. I think that would be a lot of fun. I think she’s very different and interesting and intricate,” Spears told Saturday Night Online.

    Of course, Gaga replied via Twitter.

    It will be quite interesting to hear what it sounds like when the ‘Pop Princess’ and ‘Fame Monster’ collide!

    Image via Facebook | Lady Gaga (1) (2)

  • Teen Stops Bomber in Pakistan, Saves 1,000 Students

    Sometimes the biggest of heroes can come in the smallest of packages.

    Aitazaz Hassan Bangash, a 14-year old ninth-grader from Pakistan, foiled the plans of a suicide bomber while he was walking to school in an area known as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The story was first reported by CNN.

    While walking, Hassan and his cousin, Musadiq Ali Bangash, noticed a suspicious looking man eerily dressed like one of the students, which tipped the boys off that something was out of order. And when the man asked for directions to the school, they were convinced that something was definitely wrong and tried to take immediate action.

    And when the man tried to gain entrance to the school, Aitazaz attempted to hold him back, which in turn made the bomber panic and detonate his bomb. Tragically, Aitazaz was killed, but he was immediately dubbed a hero. The bomber, whose name has yet to be revealed, was also killed.

    According to the cousin Musadiq, Aitazaz was the only one who tried to stop the bomber when he tried to give chase. “The other students backed off, but Aitazaz challenged the bomber and tried to catch him,” he said. “During the scuffle, the bomber panicked and detonated his bomb.”

    Amazingly, Aitazaz saved the lives of 1,000 Shia and Sunni students, as many of them were gathered in one place for a morning assembly, so obviously the results could have been even more disastrous if Aitazaz didn’t stop the bomber in time.

    Some in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are looking for ways to honor the young hero and give him and his family the recognition they truly deserve. “He saved the lives of hundreds of students,” said Nawaz Khan, a member of the local community. “He deserves more recognition than Malala Yousafzai,” referring to the the young Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for voicing her opinions about equal education for women.

    Image via YouTube

  • President Obama, Hillary Clinton Most Admired Among Americans

    Pope Francis may be Time’s person of the year, but Americans have several other people that they admire more than the Catholic Church’s newest leader.

    According to a new Gallup poll, Barack Obama is by far the man most admired by Americans. Of those polled, 16% mentioned the President when asked about the people they admire most. Obama has topped each year’s most-admired man poll since he was first elected U.S. president in 2008.

    Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was the second most-admired person to Americans, with 15% of those surveyed mentioning her. According to Gallup this is Clinton’s 18th time as the most-admired woman over the past two decades. Other highly-admired women included Oprah Winfrey (6%), Michelle Obama (5%), Sarah Palin (5%), Condoleezza Rice (2%), and Malala Yousafzai (2%).

    Other men to make the list include former President George W. Bush (4%), Pope Francis (4%), former President Bill Clinton (2%), and the Reverend Billy Graham (2%).

    It is worth noting that Gallup’s polling was conducted in early December – after the President had come under scrutiny for both the troubled rollout of the Healthcare.gov website and his stance on the Syrian civil war. Though American admiration for Obama is far ahead of everyone but Hillary Clinton, the President is far less admired this year than in previous years. The people mentioning Obama as an admired figure this year was nearly half the 30% of Americans who mentioned him in 2012.

    Rounding out the most-admired women list are others who have all made the list is past years: Angela Merkel, Angelina Jolie, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Queen Elizabeth II, who has appeared in the top 10 of most-admired women 46 times since Gallup began tracking such responses in 1948.

    The list of most-admired men is filled out with the eclectic group of Bill Gates, Clint Eastwood, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney, Jimmy Carter, and Ted Cruz, the U.S. Senator from Texas who was instrumental in orchestrating the shutdown of the U.S. government this past October.

    Image via White House/Pete Souza

  • Google Zeitgeist 2013 Is Out, Mandela Tops Search Trends

    It’s that time of year. Google has released the 2013 Zeitgeist.

    Google says it’s the “most global Zeitgeist to date,” as it features over 1,000 top 10 lists and top trending searches from 72 countries.

    “It’s perhaps unsurprising that the #1 trending search of 2013 was an international symbol of strength and peace: Nelson Mandela,” says Google’s Amit Singhal. “Global search interest in the former President of South Africa was already high this year, and after his passing, people from around the world turned to Google to learn more about Madiba and his legacy.”

    “Tragedies like the Boston Marathon, the 6th trending term globally, and Typhoon Haiyan, #2 on our global events list, also captured the world’s attention,” he adds. “And our human desire to help came through, with [donate to the Philippines] ranking highly around the world.”

    We’re not going to include all 1,000+ lists here, but let’s look at a few of them.

    Here’s the top 10 global trending searches of the year:

    1. Nelson Mandela
    2. Paul Walker
    3. iPhone 5s
    4. Cory Monteith
    5. Harlem Shake
    6. Boston Marathon
    7. Royal Baby
    8. Samsung Galaxy s4
    9. PlayStation 4
    10. North Korea

    Top Global People:

    1. Nelson Mandela
    2. Paul Walker
    3. Malala Yousafzai
    4. James Gandolfini
    5. Miley Cyrus
    6. Oscar Pistorius
    7. Jennifer Lawrence
    8. Aaron Hernandez
    9. Charlie Hunnam
    10. Adrian Peterson

    Top Global Consumer Electronics:

    1. iPhone 5s
    2. Samsung Galaxy S4
    3. Playstation 4
    4. Xbox One
    5. Nexus 5
    6. HTC One
    7. iPad Air
    8. Blackberry 10
    9. Samsung Galaxy Note 3
    10. Nokia Lumia 1020

    Top Global Events:

    1. Boston Marathon
    2. Typhoon Haiyan
    3. Government Shutdown
    4. 2014 FIFA World Cup
    5. Chinese New Year
    6. Australian Open
    7. Eurovision Song Contest
    8. Wimbledon
    9. Syria Conflict
    10. EuroBasket

    Top Global Movies:

    1. Man of Steel
    2. Iron Man 3
    3. World War Z
    4. Django Unchained
    5. Despicable Me 2
    6. Gravity
    7. Chennai Express
    8. Les Misérables
    9. The Conjuring
    10. Argo

    Top Global TV Shows:

    1. Under The Dome
    2. Defiance
    3. Big Brother 15
    4. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
    5. Here Comes Honey Boo Boo
    6. Sleepy Hollow
    7. Masters of Sex
    8. Homeland
    9. The Blacklist
    10. Survivor

    Top Global Videos:

    1. Ylvis – The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)
    2. Harlem Shake (Original Army Edition)
    3. How Animals Eat Their Food | MisterEpicMann
    4. Baby&Me / The New Evian Film
    5. Miley Cyrus – Wrecking Ball (Chatroulette Version)
    6. Volvo Trucks – The Epic Split feat. Van Damme
    7. YOLO (feat. Adam Levine & Kendrick Lamar)
    8. Telekinetic Coffee Shop Surprise
    9. The NFL: A Bad Lip Reading
    10. Mozart vs. Skrillex. Epic Rap Battles of History Season 2

    Now, for some U.S. trends…

    Authors

    1. Tom Clancy
    2. John Green
    3. Ree Drummond
    4. Vince Flynn
    5. Orson Scott Card
    6. Sylvia Day
    7. Stephen King
    8. Neil Gaiman
    9. Veronica Roth
    10. Maya Banks

    Blogs

    1. Engadget
    2. Gizmodo
    3. Perez Hilton
    4. Reality Steve
    5. Lifehacker
    6. Cupcakes and Cashmere
    7. I Can Has Cheezburger
    8. The Sartorialist
    9. The Daily Beast
    10. Atlantic-Pacific

    Books

    1. Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead
    2. The Great Gatsby
    3. Divergent
    4. Soul Healing Miracles: Ancient and New Sacred Wisdom, Knowledge, and the Practical Techniques for Healing the Spiritual, Mental, Emotional and Physical Bodies
    5. The Fault in Our Stars
    6. Wonder
    7. Happy, Happy, Happy: My Life and Legacy as the Duck Commander
    8. The Book Thief
    9. Strengths Based Leadership: Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow
    10. The House of Hades (Heroes of Olympus, Book 4)

    Famous Internet Animals

    1. Grumpy Cat
    2. Lil Bub
    3. Tuna the Dog
    4. Colonel Meow
    5. Princess Monster Truck
    6. Menswear Dog
    7. Sir Stuffington
    8. Yogurt the Dog
    9. Bully the Bulldog
    10. Maddie the Coonhound

    Memes

    1. Zerg Rush
    2. Cinnamon Challenge
    3. Slender Man
    4. QWOP
    5. Forever Alone
    6. LOLCats
    7. Me Gusta
    8. Derp
    9. Philosoraptor
    10. Grumpy Cat

    Mobile/Tablet Apps

    1. Bitstrips
    2. Vine
    3. Candy Crush
    4. MeetMe
    5. Snapchat
    6. Ruzzle
    7. Instagram
    8. Feedly
    9. Tinder
    10. InstaFriends

    Movies

    1. Man of Steel
    2. Iron Man 3
    3. World War Z
    4. Jobs
    5. The Conjuring
    6. The Great Gatsby
    7. Despicable Me 2
    8. The Purge
    9. Pacific Rim
    10. Mama

    Social Media Sites

    1. Tumblr
    2. Facebook
    3. LinkedIn
    4. SoundCloud
    5. Google+
    6. Goodreads
    7. Wattpad
    8. Yelp
    9. MocoSpace
    10. deviantART

    Note: No Twitter? Even with the IPO?

    Songs

    1. Harlem Shake
    2. Wrecking Ball
    3. Thrift Shop
    4. Royals (note: Google links to a page for the Kansas City Royals here…oops).
    5. Skyfall
    6. Tom Ford
    7. Holy Grail
    8. Blurred Lines
    9. Roar
    10. Radioactive

    TV Series Finales

    1. Breaking Bad (obviously)
    2. Buckwild
    3. Ready for Love
    4. Zero Hour
    5. Deception
    6. Dexter
    7. Red Widow
    8. Smash
    9. All My Children
    10. Golden Boy

    TV Shows, Most Searched

    1. Breaking Bad (obviously)
    2. Duck Dynasty
    3. Big Bang Theory
    4. Good Morning America
    5. South Park
    6. True Blood
    7. Big Brother 15
    8. New Girl
    9. Castle
    10. Scandal

    TV Shows, Trending

    1. Breaking Bad (obviously)
    2. Game of Thrones
    3. Orange is the New Black
    4. Scandal
    5. House of Cards
    6. Downton Abbey
    7. Suits
    8. NCIS
    9. Dexter
    10. New Girl

    Video Games

    1. Grand Theft Auto V
    2. Cookie Clicker
    3. Atari Breakout
    4. Candy Crush
    5. BioShock Infinite
    6. Cube World
    7. Battlefield 4
    8. Neverwinter
    9. SimCity
    10. Skylanders SWAP Force

    That’s really just a small sampling. You can head over to the Zeitgeist homepage and spend a good part of your day reliving the past year if you like.

    Check out some of the other year-end roundups here.

  • New Taliban Leader: Same Boss Who Wanted Malala Dead

    CBS News and The Week have both reported that, following the drone bombing of Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud, a new leader for the Pakistani Taliban Movement has been chosen.

    The AP confirmed the ascendance of a new leader with a statement from the Taliban’s leadership council. Mehsud, in particular was a difficult target to hit, with several previous reports of his death proving false and a $5 million bounty placed on his head. But the official word from the Taliban indicates he is quite dead this time, and has been replaced by a man named Mullah Fazlullah.

    Fazlullah’s age isn’t accurately known, but he rose to fame in 2006 when he started broadcasting Islamist messages from a pirate radio station he called “Mullah Radio” in the Swat Valley region. Fazlullah’s broadcasts encouraged a return to Sharia criminal law, the closing of all girls’ schools and the complete cessation of female education.

    In 2009, Pakistani military forces attempted to wrest Swat Valley from Taliban influence. Many homes were looted in the fighting, but a tentative peace was established; Fazlullah dodged the Pakistanis in a game of cat-and-mouse, taking him through the mountains on the border with Afghanistan. He is suspected to be directing operations in both countries using that same mountain range.

    2012 saw Fazlullah step up his campaign against women’s education, particularly when he ordered an inspirational 14-year-old named Malala Yousafzai shot for publicly condemning his desire to close girls’ schools. She survived the attempt, and became an international symbol of defiance against Islamist hardliners in a way that remains similar to her namesake, Malala of Maiwand, who became a symbol of defiance against British Imperialism in the 19th century.

    The Taliban’s previous leader had indicated a willingness to go to the negotiating table. Fazlullah is an extreme propagandist, who appears regularly on YouTube encouraging violence while carrying a U.S.-made M4 assault rifle, perhaps a wartime trophy. After Malala survived the assassination attempt, Fazlullah made additional threats against her and her family.

    Fazlullah and his fellow Taliban hardliners believe they are the sole inheritors of Mohammed’s vision of society in Medina, a mystical egalitarian community that the Islamic Prophet allegedly created in Saudi Arabia. But that vision sometimes clashes with the tribal rules and laws that the Taliban leaders must follow, as their insurgents need shelter, sustenance, and supplies — which they would not get if they operated outside their tribal structure.

    [Image of the old Taliban leader via YouTube]

  • Malala: Better Off Without A Nobel?

    When Malala Yousafzai was passed over for a Nobel Prize, an ABCNews story noted Irish betting magnate Paddy Power’s odds for her as an 8/15 favorite mere days before the prize would go to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. Other betting favorites included transgender Wikileaker Chelsea Manning (25/1) and U2 frontman Bono (100/1), but ABC’s piece did not mention the prize’s actual winner, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, as a contender.

    Why would an organization that seeks to prohibit and dismantle chemical weapons, especially in the wake of Syrian chemical weapons use, not be a favorite contender for the Nobel peace prize, even though that organization would win the award over Malala?

    The Washington Post‘s political reporter, Max Fisher, believes he has the answer: because to award Malala with the prize is to formally validate her new Western celebrity, and he concisely argues that Malala’s new celebrity status is a subconscious effort by Westerners to cope with the cultural issues they played a role in creating.

    “Like a sort of slacktivism writ large, awarding Malala the Nobel would have told us what we wanted to hear: that celebrity and ‘awareness’ can fix even the worst problems,” Fisher wrote. “It would have made us less likely to acknowledge the truth, which is that it takes decades of hard work, not to mention a serious examination of our own role in the problem, to effect meaningful change.”

    Fisher goes on to note that the OPCW oversaw the dismantling of 80 percent of Planet Earth’s declared chemical weapons, a number that included all the deadly nerve agents in South Korea and India.

    Unfortunately, as University of North Carolina assistant professor Zeynep Tufekci wrote in his blog, “There is an abundance of them [courageous, oppressed people like Malala], especially in poor, authoritarian countries. If you think Malala is rare, that is probably because you have not spent much time in such countries. Most Malala’s, however, go nameless, and are not made into Western celebrities.”

    During Malala’s Daily Show interview with Jon Stewart, Tufekci felt something telling passed between host and guest when Jon Stewart praises the girl’s father only to express his desire to adopt her. “Such a striking sentiment,” he said, “in which our multi-decade involvement in Pakistan is reduced to finding a young woman we admire that we all want to take home as if to put on a shelf to adore.”

    [Image via Wikimedia Commons]

  • David Beckham Family Sells “Beckingham Palace”

    David and Victoria Beckham are moving the family back to London, selling their Hertfordshire property for just over $19 million, about $5 million less than the listing price.

    The property, called “Beckingham Palace”, was purchased by the Beckhams in 1999 for a fraction of the selling price, a mere $4 million. The family has not stayed in the “Palace” for about two years, according to a Daily Mirror source. “They have had years of happiness in the home, but practically now there is no need to keep it,” a source for The Sun reported.

    The iconic couple will move their children Brooklyn (14), Romeo (11), Cruz (8) and Harper (2) into a central London pad reportedly costing about $72 million.

    Beckhams

    Beckham, pictured in cool black & white photos, is also releasing a book at the end of October. The globe-trotting athlete retired this year from his 20-year soccer career and the book will feature photos from his time on the field. And Becks need not confine himself to sports, modeling for H&M and promoting his own celebrity fragrance can fill the hours. But it seems he enjoys family-time most of all, even attending a sports day at the kids’ London school.

    Soccer phenom Beckham also grabbed headlines for a surprise appearance to award Malala Yousafzai the Daily Mirror Pride of Britain Award. The teen honoree said upon meeting Beckham, “I didn’t know you would be here.” She apparently recovered gracefully, quizzing Beckham about his work as a Unicef ambassador.

    Beckham presented the award, “You’re an amazing young lady whose story has moved millions… I’m privileged to present this award to you.”

    Yousafzai, 16, who now resides in England, is best known for surviving a shot to the head by a Taliban gunman while on her school bus in Pakistan. She is also regarded for her advocacy of girls’ education. The attack happened almost a year ago.

    [Image via David Beckham official Facebook and Victoria Beckham official Twitter.]

More posts