November 10 to be celebrated as Malala Day: UN

United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has announced that November 10, 2012, will be celebrated as Malala Day the world over, as it marks the 30-day anniversary of the Taliban attack on the 15-year-old education campaigner from Pakistan. The Express Tribune quoted Ki-Moon, as saying that Malala is an inspiration for girls education the world over. On Friday, the UN special envoy for global education will visit Pakistan and present President Asif Ali Zardari with a petition signed by over one million people asking that he make girls education a reality in Pakistan. Ki-Moon hoped that observing Malala day will build on the momentum of UN’s Education First initiative and show that education is a right of everyone, and not a privilege for a few. The Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) had shot Malala in the head and neck while she was returning home from on October 9. She was attacked for speaking up against the Taliban and advocating girls’ education. She is now recuperating at a hospital in Birmngham, UK, and is said to be making good progress.