Malala Yousafzai: NOBEL PRIZE WINNER AND EDUCATION ADVOCATE

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist for peace and human rights, particularly passionate about equal access to education for women and girls. Although Malala had been an activist for years, writing for a BBC blog as early as 2009, it was in October 2012 that people around the world first learned her name. A Taliban gunman shot her on a school bus in a retaliatory attack over her public writings on education and life in Pakistan’s Swat Valley during instability caused by clashes between the forces of the Taliban and the Pakistani military. Worldwide condemnation of the violent action followed and Malala was transferred to a UK hospital for medical care.

Hadiqa Bashir: ACTIVIST AGAINST CHILD MARRIAGE

Hadiqa Bashir, an activist from Pakistan, has been raising awareness in her community – and around the world – about the negative effects of child marriage. Hadiqa herself suffered pressure from her grandmother to marry at the age of eleven, only narrowly avoiding this thanks to support from a sympathetic uncle, the rights activist Erfaan Hussein Babak. Her grandmother was furious and the disagreement led to a months-long estrangement between them but it did not dissuade Hadiqa from her next move: campaigning to ensure that no girl would have to go through such a situation ever again.

Sparsh Shah: DISABILITY RIGHTS ACTIVIST

Sparsh Shah, who also shares his music under the name Purhythm, is an American disability rights advocate, motivational speaker and musician. He derived the name ‘Purhythm’ from combining the words ‘pure’ and ‘rhythm’ because he describes his rap as family-friendly (pure) and also rhythmic. He has more than 300,000 followers on YouTube, and his cover of Eminem’s song, ‘Not Afraid’, has received more than 14 million views, even drawing the attention of Eminem’s record label, Shady records, who tweeted about him after the video went viral on YouTube.

Bana Alabed: EDUCATION AND HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE, SYRIAN REFUGEE

Bana Alabed is a young survivor of the Syrian Civil War, a conflict that has killed civilians, uprooted families, and caused fear and instability throughout the region. She garnered public attention around the world through a Twitter account she maintained through the 2016 bombing and siege of the city of Aleppo; the horrors of war gained special poignancy when communicated through the eyes of a seven year-old girl.

After her school was destroyed and her father was injured in the siege, her family joined other civilians in fleeing the war-torn city; ultimately seeking refuge in Turkey.