In the name of God, The Most Beneficent, The Most Merciful.
Honourable UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon,
Respected President General Assembly Vuk Jeremic
Honourable UN envoy for Global education Mr Gordon Brown,
Respected elders and my dear brothers and sisters;
Today, it is an honour for me to be
speaking again after a long time. Being here with such honourable people
is a great moment in my life.
I don’t know where to begin my speech. I
don’t know what people would be expecting me to say. But first of all,
thank you to God for whom we all are equal and thank you to every person
who has prayed for my fast recovery and a new life. I cannot believe
how much love people have shown me. I have received thousands of good
wish cards and gifts from all over the world. Thank you to all of them.
Thank you to the children whose innocent words encouraged me. Thank you
to my elders whose prayers strengthened me.
I would like to thank my nurses, doctors
and all of the staff of the hospitals in Pakistan and the UK and the
UAE government who have helped me get better and recover my strength. I
fully support Mr Ban Ki-moon the Secretary-General in his Global
Education First Initiative and the work of the UN Special Envoy Mr
Gordon Brown. And I thank them both for the leadership they continue to
give. They continue to inspire all of us to action.
Dear brothers and sisters, do remember
one thing. Malala day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman,
every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights.
There are hundreds of Human rights activists and social workers who are
not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve
their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have
been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just
one of them.
So here I stand… one girl among many.
I speak – not for myself, but for all girls and boys.
I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.
Those who have fought for their rights:
Their right to live in peace.
Their right to be treated with dignity.
Their right to equality of opportunity.
Their right to be educated.
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 sisters and brothers, now it’s time to speak up.
So today, we call upon the world leaders to change their strategic policies in favour of peace and prosperity.
We call upon the world leaders that all
the peace deals must protect women and children’s rights. A deal that
goes against the dignity of women and their rights is unacceptable.
We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world.
We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm.
We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities for girls in the developing world.
We call upon all communities to be
tolerant – to reject prejudice based on cast, creed, sect, religion or
gender. To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can
flourish. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.
We call upon our sisters around the
world to be brave – to embrace the strength within themselves and
realise their full potential.
Dear brothers and sisters, we want
schools and education for every child’s bright future. We will continue
our journey to our destination of peace and education for everyone. No
one can stop us. We will speak for our rights and we will bring change
through our voice. We must believe in the power and the strength of our
words. Our words can change the world.
Because we are all together, united for
the cause of education. And if we want to achieve our goal, then let us
empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let us shield
ourselves with unity and togetherness.
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.
One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.
Education is the only solution. Education First.
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