By — Larisa Epatko Larisa Epatko Leave a comment 0comments Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/malalas-first-tweet Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Activist Malala Yousafzai tweets for education World Sep 23, 2013 6:35 PM EDT NEW YORK — Even though Malala Yousafzai, the young education activist who was shot by a member of the Taliban, started out as a blogger for the BBC, she normally doesn’t tweet. But Monday afternoon, she typed her first 140-character message in a Twitter chat for her organization, the @MalalaFund. Hello dear friends! Thank you for joining. This is a part of our campaign for education. – Malala #MalalaFund — Malala Fund (@MalalaFund) September 23, 2013 She said children everywhere need a chance to get educated. “Children in Pakistan, children in India, children in Afghanistan. They are suffering from child labor, they are suffering from child trafficking, they are suffering from terrorism. We need to stand up for them, we need to speak up for them. And we must do it now. We should not wait for someone else. We should not wait for the governments to do it. It is our duty.” Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, said in many parts of the world, girls’ “wings are clipped” from the beginning. But he wanted to make Malala free and independent. “Now it’s up to her what she chooses for herself.” Malala’s brothers are less reverent, she said, recalling a recent remark one of them made. “Sitting with my youngest brother, who is 9, he said, ‘I can’t understand why you’re getting awards. What have you done?’ “They’re still naughty,” she said, laughing and covering the right side of her crooked smile. The Malala Fund website invites people to share their stories and express why education is important to them. The young activist is a representation of millions of others around the world seeking an education, said Chernor Bah, chairman of the Youth Advocacy Group at the U.N. Global Education First Initiative. Rather than focusing on the challenges, “she makes it about hope and the power of education.” The reporting was supported in part by the U.N. Foundation’s press fellowship program. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now By — Larisa Epatko Larisa Epatko Larisa Epatko produced multimedia web features and broadcast reports with a focus on foreign affairs for the PBS NewsHour. She has reported in places such as Jordan, Pakistan, Iraq, Haiti, Sudan, Western Sahara, Guantanamo Bay, China, Vietnam, South Korea, Turkey, Germany and Ireland. @NewsHourWorld
NEW YORK — Even though Malala Yousafzai, the young education activist who was shot by a member of the Taliban, started out as a blogger for the BBC, she normally doesn’t tweet. But Monday afternoon, she typed her first 140-character message in a Twitter chat for her organization, the @MalalaFund. Hello dear friends! Thank you for joining. This is a part of our campaign for education. – Malala #MalalaFund — Malala Fund (@MalalaFund) September 23, 2013 She said children everywhere need a chance to get educated. “Children in Pakistan, children in India, children in Afghanistan. They are suffering from child labor, they are suffering from child trafficking, they are suffering from terrorism. We need to stand up for them, we need to speak up for them. And we must do it now. We should not wait for someone else. We should not wait for the governments to do it. It is our duty.” Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, said in many parts of the world, girls’ “wings are clipped” from the beginning. But he wanted to make Malala free and independent. “Now it’s up to her what she chooses for herself.” Malala’s brothers are less reverent, she said, recalling a recent remark one of them made. “Sitting with my youngest brother, who is 9, he said, ‘I can’t understand why you’re getting awards. What have you done?’ “They’re still naughty,” she said, laughing and covering the right side of her crooked smile. The Malala Fund website invites people to share their stories and express why education is important to them. The young activist is a representation of millions of others around the world seeking an education, said Chernor Bah, chairman of the Youth Advocacy Group at the U.N. Global Education First Initiative. Rather than focusing on the challenges, “she makes it about hope and the power of education.” The reporting was supported in part by the U.N. Foundation’s press fellowship program. We're not going anywhere. Stand up for truly independent, trusted news that you can count on! Donate now