Who could have predicted a Pakistani teenager would become the next superstar of the women’s rights movement?

At age 17, Malala Yousafzai last week became the youngest-ever winner of a Nobel Prize for any category. Two years ago, the advocate for education for girls nearly lost her life to a would-be Taliban assassin’s bullet, when she was only 15.

The schoolgirl’s story began when she was 11, when she started anonymously compiling a blog about being a girl in the heart of a Taliban stronghold governed by Shariah law. That was in 2008, when Taliban militants led by Maulana Fazlullah were hanging the bodies of beheaded police officers in the streets. They banned television, music, girls’ education and women shopping. They had destroyed more than 100 girls schools.

Malala’s memoir, “I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban,” recalls the shooting that took place Oct. 9, 2012, on her bus in the Swat district of northwest Pakistan. A gunman on the crowded bus called our her name, then fired three pistol shots. One bullet struck the side of Malala’s forehead, ran under her skin along the side of her face, and lodged in her shoulder, leaving her unconscious, critically wounded and fighting for her life.

But the bullet didn’t silence Malala. It did not permanently damage her brain.

And the attack failed to take away her sense of humor. When an Associated Press reporter telephoned Malala late last week for her reaction to being named the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, she playfully answered the phone: “Hello, this is the Nobel laureate.”

Then she reportedly burst into giggles.

Her laughter served as a delightful affirmation of the strength and resiliency of the human spirit. A teenager who has pledged her life — and nearly lost her life — to the advancement of women’s rights to education still has the ability to laugh. It stirs our hearts to laugh with her, to celebrate her achievement and her courage.

Ironically, Malala’s name in her native Pashtun language means “grief-stricken.”

But let’s remember the Islamic fundamentalist militants who tried to silence Malala can hear the international reverberations of Malala’s laughter, too. The Taliban are seething because a teenage girl has exposed their deepest fear — the very thought of schoolgirls armed books.

After Malala was shot, her family took her to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, for intensive rehabilitation, It was there that her story gained international attention. The family has remained in Birmingham rather than risk another attack from Taliban terrorists.

It is important to note that just three days after her shooting, a group of 50 Islamic clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwa — a decree based on their religious belief — condemning those who tried to kill Malala. Islamic leaders took a bold stand — and a necessary one — with their disapproval of a cowardly act.

Malala stands for all that is right within the Islamic world. She has remained focused on her mission to advocate for girls’ education — and she has done so with dignity and consistency.

Her mission will succeed because its objective is reasonable and right. There is no logical opposition, particularly in the face of an ever-growing mass of support.

Best and joyous wishes to the Nobel laureate. Burst of giggles optional.