MALALA DAY: Education is the only solution ~ Malala Yousafzai .

This is a transcription of the speech that
Malala Yousafzai gave to the United
Nations on 12 July 2013, the date of her
16th birthday and "Malala Day" at the UN.

In the name of God, the most beneficent,
the most merciful.
Honorable UN Secretary General Mr Ban
Ki-moon, respected president of the
General Assembly Vuk Jeremic, honorable
UN envoy for global education Mr Gordon
Brown, respected elders and my dear
brothers and sisters: Assalamu alaikum.
Today is it an honor for me to be speaking
again after a long time. Being here with
such honorable people is a great moment
in my life and it is an honor for me that
today I am wearing a shawl of the late
Benazir Bhutto. 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 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 the
staff of the hospitals in Pakistan and the
UK and the UAE government who have
helped me to get better and recover my
strength.
I fully support UN Secretary General Ban
Ki-moon in his Global Education First
Initiative and the work of UN Special Envoy
for Global Education Gordon Brown and
the respectful president of the UN General
Assembly Vuk Jeremic. I thank them 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 their rights, but who are
struggling to achieve their goal of peace,
education 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. So here I
stand, one girl, among many. I speak not
for myself, but so 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 9 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 out of that silence
came thousands of voices. The terrorists
thought they would change my aims and
stop my 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. And
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
terrorist group. I am here to speak for the
right of education for every child. I want
education for the sons and daughters of
the Taliban and all the terrorists and
extremists. I do not even hate the Talib
who shot me. Even if there was a gun in
my hand and he was standing in front of
me, I would not shoot him. This is the
compassion I have learned from
Mohammed, the prophet of mercy, Jesus
Christ and Lord Buddha. This the legacy of
change I have inherited from Martin
Luther King, Nelson Mandela and
Mohammed Ali Jinnah.
This is the philosophy of nonviolence that I
have learned from Gandhi, Bacha Khan and
Mother Teresa. And this is the forgiveness
that I have learned from my father and
from my mother. This is what my soul is
telling me: be peaceful and love everyone.
Dear sisters and brothers, we realize the
importance of light when we see darkness.
We realize the importance of our voice
when we are silenced. In the same way,
when we were in Swat, the north of
Pakistan, we realized the importance of
pens and books when we saw the guns.
The wise saying, "The pen is mightier than
the sword." It is 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. This is why they
killed 14 innocent students in the recent
attack in Quetta. And that is why they kill
female teachers. That is why they are
blasting schools every day because they
were and they are afraid of change and
equality that we will bring to our society.
And 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 point guns
at people's heads just for going to school.
These terrorists are misusing the name of
Islam for their own personal benefit.
Pakistan is a peace loving, democratic
country. Pashtuns want education for their
daughters and sons. Islam is a religion of
peace, humanity and brotherhood. It is
the duty and responsibility to get
education for each child, that is what it
says. Peace is a necessity for education. In
many parts of the world, especially
Pakistan and Afghanistan, terrorism, war
and conflicts stop children from going to
schools. We are really tired of these wars.
Women and children are suffering in many
ways in many parts of the world.
In India, innocent and poor children are
victims of child labor. Many schools have
been destroyed in Nigeria. People in
Afghanistan have been affected by
extremism. Young girls have to do
domestic child labor and are forced to get
married at an early age. Poverty,
ignorance, injustice, racism and the
deprivation of basic rights are the main
problems, faced by both men and women.
Today I am focusing" on women's rights and
girls' education because they are suffering
the most. There was a time when women
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,
but I am focusing on women to be
independent and fight for themselves. So
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
favor of peace and prosperity. We call
upon the world leaders that all of these
deals must protect women and children's
rights. A deal that goes against the rights
of women is unacceptable.
We call upon all governments to ensure
free, compulsory education all over the
world for every child. We call upon all the
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 education opportunities for
girls in the developing world. We call upon
all communities to be tolerant, to reject
prejudice based on caste, creed, sect,
color, religion or agenda to ensure
freedom and equality for women so 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 realize 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.
No one can stop us. We will speak up for
our rights and we will bring change to our
voice. We believe in the power and the
strength of our words. Our words can
change the whole world because we ware
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 and injustice and ignorance.
We must not forget that millions of
children are out of their schools. We must
not forget that our sisters and brothers
are waiting for a bright, peaceful future.
So let us wage, so let us wage a glorious
struggle against illiteracy, poverty and
terrorism, let us pick up our books and our
pens, they are the most powerful
weapons. One child, one teacher, one
book and one pen can change the world.
Education is the only solution. Education
first. Thank you.
Guardian UK