Moniba is a student at the all-girls Swat Valley School in Pakistan. Moniba was born in 1997 and was one of the first students to attend her father’s newly opened school for girls in 2002. She has two brothers and three sisters. One of her sister’s name is Zubaida, she was also shot by Taliban militants when she was visiting Pakistan for medical treatment for her eyes.
She is also the daughter of Ziauddin Yousafzai, the founder and headmaster of the school. Moniba’s family has lived through war and struggle their entire lives. Her father was imprisoned by the Taliban for his work with children and women’s rights; her mother was threatened with death if she did not stop teaching at their school; and her brother, Malala Yousafzai, became known worldwide after being shot on her way home from school by Taliban gunmen in 2012.
In fact, Moniba grew up surrounded by books and education. Her father started a school in their backyard when he returned from living abroad to find that girls couldn’t attend school in Swat Valley. The school grew until it became a beloved institution for both boys and girls. Today, Moniba works at a bookstore in Islamabad where she sells books about world leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Malala Yousafzai herself.
