Malala Yousafzai

Honorable UN Envoy for Global Education, Mr. Gordon Brown, respected elders, and my dear brothers and sisters, assalamu alaikum. Assalamu alaikum. Thank you. Today, it is 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's an honor for me that today I'm wearing a shawl of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed. 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 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 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 the respected President General Assembly, Vuk Jeremic.

I thank all of them for their leadership that 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'm just one of them. So here I stand.

So here I stand, one girl among many. I speak not for myself, but for those without voice can be heard. Those who have fought for their rights, their right to live in peace, their right to be treated with with 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 bullet would silence us.

But they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that 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'm not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group.

I'm here to speak up for the right of education of 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 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 learned from Muhammad, the Prophet of mercy, and Jesus Christ, and Lord Buddha. This the, this is the legacy of change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

This This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learned from Gandhiji, 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 sword," was true.

The extremists were and they are afraid of books and pens. The power of education, 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 students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. That is why they are blasting schools every day, because they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of equality that we will bring into 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 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 a peace-loving democratic country.

Pashtuns want education for their daughters and sons, and Islam is a religion of peace, humanity, and brotherhood. Islam says it's not only each child's right to get education, rather it's their duty and responsibility. Honorable 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 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 the hurdles of extremism for decades.

Young girls have to do domestic child labor and are forced to get married at early age. Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism, and the deprivation of basics, basic rights are the main problem faced by both men and women. Dear fellows, today I'm 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'm not telling men to step away from speaking for women's rights. Rather, I'm focusing on women to be independent, to 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 the peace deals must protect women's 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 the communities to be tolerant, to reject prejudice based on caste, creed, sect, color, 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 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 through 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, 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 global struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism.

Let us pick up, let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our 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.