Malala Yousafza- full text UN speech
Malala Yousafza- full text UN speech
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.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-full-text-malala-yousafzai-delivers-defiant-riposte-to-taliban-militants-with-speech-to-the-un-general-assembly-8706606.html
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