I’ve been watching and reading about Malala since that fateful day in 2012 when she was shot in the face and catapulted into the international limelight. The one thing that has always struck me is her clear and passionate “voice” – she had something to say when she was 12 and now at 18 her message is the same. It may have expanded a bit but the essence is true and clear. She stands for the right of education for every child – especially the girl child.

Today I saw her interview with Emma Watson (now there’s a fangirl!) and again I was struck by how charming Malala is in her simple honesty. She isn’t naive by a long shot – how could one possibly be after meeting and chatting with world leaders, celebrities, traveling the world, addressing international forums like the UN and receiving brickbats (death threats) and bouquets (international awards) in equal measure. And yet she’s refreshingly poised but at the same time unspoiled by the attention. Getting a Nobel Prize at the age of 18 may sound like a huge honor but I see it as an even bigger responsibility. To receive what most fellow laureates get after years of dedication to their chosen fields, at the threshold of her adult life, means that she will now be constantly judged and measured, glorified or vilified.

To all those who choose to vilify her – the trolls come out in full force after any mention of her online – I ask, so what have YOU done in your lifetime that you think you’re justified to criticize and denigrate this girl? She may have done nothing more than address a few world forums and talk to a few world leaders, she may even have benefited from becoming the media’s darling but whatever she HAS achieved in the 18 years of her life are a lot more than what most of us can hope to do in our whole lifetime.

So you haters ask – what has she actually accomplished?

I say –

1. Just by being in the public eye she makes us think about all the girls who are condemned to illiteracy and a life of subjugation.
2. She makes us want to take a stand, to commit to a cause.
3. She makes it cool to go to school! Children around the world have been inspired by her, have learnt to value their education and not take it for granted
4. She humbles us through her simplicity and honesty. If she can sit down with the likes of Obama, Ban Ki-Moon, and the Queen and have them listen to her, she has done enough.
5. She listens and takes action where she can, her fight is not constrained by geography. Culturally, she identifies herself by her country of birth and yet she’s a true global citizen.

To her I say: You Go Girl!