Governor Dayton and Lt. Governor Smith Proclaim "Malala Yousafzai Day" in Minnesota

Press Release

Thousands of Minnesotans will come together at Target Center tonight, as education advocate and Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai will speak about her life and experiences. In honor of her visit to Minnesota, Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith have proclaimed Tuesday, July 26, 2016, to be "Malala Yousafzai Day" in Minnesota.

Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakistan on July 12, 1997, where she and her father were outspoken advocates for the right of girls to attend school in Pakistan, despite opposition from the Taliban and death threats. On October 9, 2012, at the age of 15, Malala was shot by the Taliban while traveling home from school on the bus with her friends. That horrible attack led to worldwide condemnation and protests across Pakistan, with over 2 million people signing a petition for the right to education, leading the National Assembly to ratify Pakistan's first Right To Free and Compulsory Education Bill.

In 2014, Malala Yousafzai became the youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Prize, at the age of 17, and contributed the $1.1 million prize toward financing the creation of a secondary school for girls in Pakistan. Malala also received Pakistan's first National Youth Peace Prize in 2011, and was nominated by Archbishop Desmond Tutu for the International Children's Peace Prize.

Today, Malala and her father run the Malala Fund, to bring awareness to the social and economic impact of girls' education and to empower girls to raise their voices, unlock their potential, and demand change.

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