Shazia Ramzan was on sitting on a school bus, on her way home from an exam, when her world was brutally torn apart.
The 14-year-old was with friends Malala Yousafzai and Kainat Riaz when a Taliban gunman boarded the bus and shot them. Malala was targeted because of her outspoken support for girls’ education in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.
“My life changed forever,” said Shazia, who was struck in the neck and arm. “I was shot because I was receiving an education – and because I was a girl.”
That was 13 years ago. Malala went on to win a Nobel Peace Prize for her campaigning. Shazia and Kainat moved to the United Kingdom, studied at school then university and became passionate advocates for education, joining Theirworld’s Global Youth Ambassador programme.
Girls are still being denied an education by the ruling Taliban in Pakistan’s neighbour Afghanistan. Ahead of the fourth anniversary of a ban on girls attending secondary school, Shazia has spoken about the importance of schooling for every girl in the world.