On Dec. 5, 2013, South African president Nelson Mandela died after a drawn-out battle with a respiratory infection. He is often called “the Father” of the South African nation, the visionary leader who, after being imprisoned for 27 years, led the people of South Africa to abolish apartheid and grow as a united power. Other accounts would contradict this common idolization of the man, instead painting him as an extremist who founded a terrorist branch of the South African Communist Party, known for its bombings and lack of regard for collateral damage.

In a more objective sense, and despite anyone’s personal view of Mandela’s life and work, during his life he became one of the most influential figures in world history in the latter half of the twentieth century. This begs the question: Who will be the next Nelson Mandela?

Mandela’s death has left a large, increasingly beloved pair of shoes to fill. The adversity he overcame throughout his lifetime, along with the social changes he brought about in the aftermath of his prison years, resonate with people the world over. In order for a newcomer to take the place of Mandela in the hearts and minds of the world, his or her story would have to be extraordinary, one of triumph over impossible odds and determination to spread social evolution.

Surely, no such story exists. Unless, of course, one turns their attention to Malala Yousafzai, a young girl from Pakistan. The 16 year-old is an extremely prominent political activist from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region who, at the age of 14, was shot in the head and neck by members of the Taliban after spreading her views on the importance of women’s education.

Amazingly enough, Yousafzai was not killed in this attempt on her life. She remained comatose for days, and was in critical condition before being evacuated out of Pakistan and found treatment in the United Kingdom.

The attack only served to enhance Yousafzai’s resolve, inspiring her to write her book, I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up For Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, which was released in 2013. The book caused quite a rowe in Yousafzai’s homeland of Pakistan.

In the months following the book’s release, a tremor has spread through the region, dividing it between those who align with the Taliban and those who side with Yousafzai. Some say that she is a voice of reason in the clutches of theocracy, while still others claim that she is a parrot for the agenda of the West.

The schism is deep and the disagreements heartfelt, but if ever there were to be a “hero” like Mandela, who could return triumphantly to their home and unite its people as a champion of civil rights, it would be Malala Yousafzai.