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  • Thank you. (....)

  • In the name of God,the most beneficent, the most merciful.

  • honourable UN secretary general Mr Ban Ki-moon,

  • respected president general assembly Vuk Jeremic,

  • honourable UN envoy for global education Mr Gordon Brown,

  • respected elders and my dear brothers and sisters, (....) thank you.

  • Today, it is 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 honor for me 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 respected president general assembly Vuk Jeremic.

  • And I thank all of 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 goals 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 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 bullets would silence us.

  • But they failed.

  • Out of that silence came, thousands of voices.

  • The terrorists thought that they would change our aims and stop our 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 terrorists group.

  • I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child.

  • I want education for the sons and the 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 learnt from Muhammad, the prophet of mercy,

  • and Jesus christ, and Lord Buddha.

  • This is the legacy of change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King,

  • Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

  • This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhi, Bacha Khan, and Mother Teresa.

  • And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt 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 the equality that we will bring into our society.

  • 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 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 is their duty and responsibility.

  • Honourable 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 labour.

  • 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 labour and are forced to get married at early age.

  • Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights

  • are the main problems faced by both men and women.

  • Dear fellows, today I am 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.

  • This time, we will do it by ourselves.

  • I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women's rights.

  • Rather, I am 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 favour 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 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 educational 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.

Thank you. (....)

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