Malala Receives Taliban Letter Explaining Why She Was Shot

Malala has a gotten Taliban-penned letter explaining why she was shot. Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old school Pakistani school girl, was targeted and attacked by Taliban gunmen last year. Armed men shot her in the head and left her to die.

The letter, reports BBC, stops just short of being an apology for the attack.

Refusing to lay down and die after the attack last October, Malala inspired the world by making a full recovery. Malala Yousafzai is now a household name through much of the world. Her defiance of the brutal Taliban has made her a hero to many.

After fifteen gunmen boarded Malala’s school bus last October and asked for her by name and tried to kill her, many have asked why. Most have thought that it had to do with Malala seeking education in Pakistan. The Pakistan Taliban are known for their radical views about women. They generally believe women should not seek education.

While this was the understood reason behind the attack on Malala, a Taliban letter sent to her by a top official in the rogue organization to correct this, reports CNN. In the letter, it is explained that the 15-year-old girl was targeted because of her public writings, not because she was going to school.

The letter says that the Taliban thought Malala was “intentionally writing against them and running a smear campaign … your writings were provocative.”

Was that a compliment?

The letter goes on, stopping just short of being an apology. The letter’s author saying that he was not writing as a Taliban leader; instead, he was writing out of personal regret, saying the shooting shocked him. He also says he regrets not warning Malala ahead of the attack.

The letter is believed to be penned by Adnan Rashid, a top Taliban leader in Pakistan. While the authenticity cannot be proven for certain, most authorities have accepted it as genuine.

Rashid writes that Malala has said “that the pen is mightier than the sword. So they attacked you for your sword, not your books or school.” Rashid goes on to insist that the Taliban are not against females getting education, as long as it follows Islamic law.

Malala’s letter from the Taliban came days after the teenager spoke at the United Nations, where she was invited to speak for her 16th birthday.

[Image via Facebook]