Children’s Museum Honors Taliban Victim, Survivor
(image courtesy: The Malala Fund)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA now 23-year-old woman from Pakistan, who survived an attempted murder by the Taliban as a teenager and became an international icon for her bravery, will take a place of honor at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis.
Malala Yousafzai will be added to the museum’s “The Power of Children: Making a Difference” exhibit, starting in 2021.
Malala was 15 years old when in 2012 a Taliban gunman shot her in the head while on her way home from school in Pakistan. At the time, the Taliban banned girls from attending school.
The teenager survived the life-threatening shot to the head. Because of her recovery and continued efforts to fight for girl’s education, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala’s story will now be added to the Power of Children exhibit at the Children’s Museum.
“Malala’s courage to fight for her beliefs can help young people understand they don’t have to succumb to racism, discrimination or bullying,” said Dr. Jeffrey Patchen, museum president and chief executive officer. “They each have a voice and the power to make a positive difference in the world.”
Just three other children are highlighted in the exhibit, including Anne Franke who documented the horrors of the 1940s Holocaust, Ruby Bridges, one of the first black students to integrate a white school system in New Orleans, and Indiana teenager Ryan White, who fought against fear and misinformation in the days of the AIDS epidemic.
The Children’s Museum says it created the exhibit to give people a place to learn and discuss difficult issues like prejudice and discrimination.
The museum says the exhibit illustrates the impact children have had and will continue to have in shaping history.