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Excerpt of Malala Yousafzai's Speech at The Youth Takeover of The United Nations

Malala Yousafzai gave a speech at the United Nations about the importance of education. She recounted how the Taliban shot her at age 15 for advocating for girls' education, but that it did not silence her and instead strengthened her resolve. She said she does not hate the Taliban and wants education for all children, including their sons and daughters. Malala believes that education, especially of women, is powerful and frightens extremists who want to keep people in darkness and silence women's voices. She called for a global effort to provide education opportunities to all children.

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379 views2 pages

Excerpt of Malala Yousafzai's Speech at The Youth Takeover of The United Nations

Malala Yousafzai gave a speech at the United Nations about the importance of education. She recounted how the Taliban shot her at age 15 for advocating for girls' education, but that it did not silence her and instead strengthened her resolve. She said she does not hate the Taliban and wants education for all children, including their sons and daughters. Malala believes that education, especially of women, is powerful and frightens extremists who want to keep people in darkness and silence women's voices. She called for a global effort to provide education opportunities to all children.

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Excerpt of Malala Yousafzais speech at the Youth Takeover of the United

Nations.
Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. As a child, she became an advocate
for girls' education, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. In 2012, a gunman
shot Malala when she was traveling home from school. She survived, and has continued to speak out on
the importance of education. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013, and again in 2014.

Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead.
They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed. And
then, out of that silence came, thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change
our aims and stop our ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and
hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions
are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.

Dear sisters and brothers, I am not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of
personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorists group. I am here to speak up for the
right of education of every child. I want education for the sons and the daughters of all the
extremists especially the Taliban.

I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front
of me. I would not shoot him. This is the compassion that I have learnt from Muhammad-the
prophet of mercy, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. This is the legacy of change that I have
inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is the
philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhi Jee, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa.
And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt from my mother and father. This is what my soul is
telling me, be peaceful and love everyone.

Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the importance of light when we see darkness. We realise
the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the
north of Pakistan, we realised the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

The wise saying, The pen is mightier than sword was true. The extremists are afraid of books
and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the
voice of women frightens them. And that is why they killed 14 innocent medical students in the
recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed many female teachers and polio workers in
Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa and FATA. That is why they are blasting schools every day. Because
they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of the equality that we will bring into our society.

I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, Why are the
Taliban against education? He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he said, A Talib
doesn't know what is written inside this book. They think that God is a tiny, little conservative
being who would send girls to the hell just because of going to school. The terrorists are
misusing the name of Islam and Pashtun society for their own personal benefits. Pakistan is
peace-loving democratic country. Pashtuns want education for their daughters and sons. And
Islam is a religion of peace, humanity and brotherhood. Islam says that it is not only each child's
right to get education, rather it is their duty and responsibility.

Honourable Secretary General, peace is necessary for education. In many parts of the world
especially Pakistan and Afghanistan; terrorism, wars and conflicts stop children to go to their
schools. We are really tired of these wars. Women and children are suffering in many parts of the
world in many ways. In India, innocent and poor children are victims of child labour. Many
schools have been destroyed in Nigeria. People in Afghanistan have been affected by the hurdles
of extremism for decades. Young girls have to do domestic child labour and are forced to get
married at early age. Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights are
the main problems faced by both men and women.

Dear fellows, today I am focusing on women's rights and girls' education because they are
suffering the most. There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their
rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking
for women's rights rather I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from
poverty, injustice and ignorance. We must not forget that millions of children are out of schools.
We must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting for a bright peaceful future.

So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism and let us pick up our
books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.

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