Great leaders are often defined not by their beliefs, but by how they react when those beliefs are tested to the limit.
In the case of the Pakistani girl activist Malala Yousafzai, it's likely historians will focus on the horrific incident one year ago this week when she was shot in the head as she made her way home on the school bus.
In the eyes of the world, that was the defining moment in her fight for education - transforming her from an unknown schoolgirl to a global figurehead in the struggle for girls’ rights.
Yet the truly remarkable thing about Malala is how little that attack by the Taliban changed her.