Appreciate the life you live and help others to be able to do the same

Free education. Food on the table. The right to speak your mind. Outside the United States, some countries view these things Americans take for granted as luxuries. Those that are courageous enough to fight for these basic freedoms put themselves in danger to advance social progress.

Source: Reuters

A young woman from rural Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai, chooses to face such threats from the Taliban. At a mere fifteen years old, she fell into the public eye in October when a Taliban gunman shot her in the head for "promoting secularism." Her noted efforts begin as early as eleven years old, when she wrote an anonymous blog on BBC criticizing the fundamentalist group for their repressive authority. She follows in the steps of her father, who was an education activist, as she advocates for women's education as well. Both Yousafzais have been targeted by militants and live in constant danger, yet Malala has a maturity and tenacity beyond her years stating "Even if they come to kill me,...education is our basic right."

Illiteracy should be a pressing concern in Pakistan. Statistics from the Federal Education Ministry of Pakistan show that the country's overall literacy rate is 46 percent, and for women, just 26 percent. Part of the problem is widespread poverty, which forces millions of Pakistani children to enter the workforce to help support their families.

Amnesty International is a nonprofit organization that works to promote human rights and expose injustices. They address censorship issues, children's rights, and women's rights - Malala's chosen cause - among others. Their many victories include releasing tens of thousands of 'prisoners of conscience' from unjust detention and garnering support for the establishment of an International Criminal Court. My college even had a hand in mobilizing grassroots power through our campus chapter, which participates in the annual letter-writing marathon for prisoners of conscience and human rights defenders. To find out more information on how you can help, click here.