“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 were 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 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 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.”
