After being shot in the head in October 2012 and surviving, Malala Yousafzai gave a rousing speech on the importance of education on her 16th birthday at the United Nations. The United Nations has declared July 12 Malala Day to commemorate her birthday and to honor her for her inspirational story and life.
In her speech, Malala called on world leaders to work together to provide “free, compulsory education” for every child. She stressed that books and pens are “our most powerful weapons” and that “[o]ne child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution.”
Malala, an outspoken activist of education for girls, was shot by the Pakistan Taliban on her way home from school last year in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. The Taliban said that she had “become a symbol of Western culture in the area” and that they would attack her again if she survived.
Two other girls were also wounded in the attack. Recalling her friends, Malala asserted that the bullets the Taliban thought would silence them have not. She stated, “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.”
Malala also stated that she does not hate the Talib who shot her, citing the legacies of peace activists such as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr., and Mother Teresa that serve as her examples.
Malala has served as an inspiration for children and parents around the world. Since 2009 the Taliban had launched a violent campaign against girls’ education and attacked more than 800 schools in the northwestern region of Pakistan. However, after Malala’s recovery, daughters were soon being sent back to school in the Swat Valley. Enrollment went up, with an extra 30 girls attending school, bringing the total to almost 300.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon of South Korea, who introduced Malala, said, “By targeting Malala, extremists showed what they feared the most: a girl with a book,” Mr. Ki-moon said. “Malala is calling on us to keep our promises — invest in young people and put education first.”
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