Writing about how she still hasn’t recovered from surviving being shot by the Taliban at the age of 15, Malala Yousufzai said that many Afghans’ stories would be different from her’s due to not having access to medical care.
Talking about the current situation there, she said, “Nine years later, I am still recovering from just one bullet. The people of Afghanistan have taken millions of bullets over the last four decades. My heart breaks for those whose names we will forget or never even know, whose cries for help will go unanswered.”
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She was shot in Peshawar, Pakistan, by a terrorist, for her views on female education. Talking about her experience, “I had the most severe head pain. My vision was blurry. The tube in my neck made it impossible to talk. Days later I still couldn’t speak, but I started to write things in a notebook and show them to everyone who came to my room. I had questions: What happened to me? Where is my father? Who is going to pay for this treatment? We don’t have money.”
Nine years after being shot, I am still recovering from just one Taliban bullet. Read more: https://t.co/wrnJIEW06G pic.twitter.com/gd4oow1WIE
— Malala Yousafzai (@Malala) August 24, 2021
Her skull bone had to be removed and put in her stomach instead. The doctors permanently replaced her skull bone with a titanium plate. Now, her skull bone lies in a case on her bookshelf.
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She wrote, “When the Taliban shot me, journalists in Pakistan and a few international media outlets already knew my name. They knew that I had been speaking against the extremists’ ban on girls’ education for years. They reported on the attack and people around the world responded. But it could have been different. My story might have ended in a local news item: ’15-year-old shot in the head.'”
Talking about all the things that helped her recover, she revealed that media attention added to the public support and helped her survive.