Honourable UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon, respected president of the General Assembly Vuk Jeremic, honourable UN envoy for global education Mr Gordon Brown, respected elders and my dear brothers and sisters: Assalamu alaikum.
Today is it 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 and it is an honour 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, 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 Mohamed, 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 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 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 labour. Many schools have been destroyed in Nigeria.
People in Afghanistan have been affected by extremism. Young girls have to do
domestic child labour 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 favour 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, colour, 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 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. 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 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.
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