Subtitles section Play video
-
Malala Yousafzai is a teenager from the Swat Valley of Pakistan, a region bordering northeast
-
Afghanistan, a place defined by high mountains, green meadows, clear waters and bloody conflict.
-
By the age of 12, Malala was an activist. In 2009, she wrote a diary for the BBC which
-
described the atrocious deeds of the Taliban and advocated equal opportunities and education
-
for women. In 2011, Malala was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Price
-
and, in December of that year, received Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize for her efforts.
-
She also received death threats. Malala was repeatedly warned by the Taliban
-
to be silent. To immediately discontinue her public criticisms and to stop speaking out
-
for the rights of an obviously inferior gender. In the eyes of the Taliban, Malala and all
-
women were to submit and accept their place in the order of things.
-
But Malala was not silent. On October 9th, 2012, as Malala Yousafzai
-
and other girl students were riding home from school, armed gunmen halted the vehicle and
-
opened fire. Two other girls were seriously wounded. Malala
-
was shot in the head. At the age of 15, for the terrible crime of insisting that girls
-
had the right to get an education, to better themselves, to break the cultural shackles
-
which imprisoned them, Malala Yousafzai was the enemy. To the Pakistani Taliban, her words
-
were as dangerous as any weapon of warfare, because they challenged the order of things,
-
because they insisted that fanatical men did not deserve to be the masters of her world,
-
because they were spoken by a defiant, free, female voice.
-
For this, the Pakistani Taliban declared war on a little girl because she was “the symbol
-
of the infidels and obscenity.” But Malala did not die. She escaped death by inches,
-
and her recovery has inspired millions across the planet. Among the first public photos
-
of Malala’s recovery is this one, the young girl reading a book a symbol of the very education
-
the Taliban wishes to deny. Schools have been renamed for her. Petitions
-
for girls’ education are being circulated in her honor. And for the moment, millions
-
of eyes are opened to the brutal, cowardly, oppressive cultures that seek to keep women’s
-
rights, to keep human rights, under their boot.
-
Malala Yousafzai’s story is a compelling one. Unfortunately, it is not a new story.
-
Every day, atrocities like this are committed around the world. And for thousands of years,
-
tyrants have been terrified that those under their control will rise up and wield the most
-
dangerous weapon of all: an idea. This is a critical moment. This horrific act
-
of violence and oppression charges us to take a long, hard look at things and decide that
-
we cannot, we will not stand quietly as our fellow human beings are tortured and executed
-
for the crime of thinking for themselves. That we refuse to be threatened into submission.
-
And that we will not stop fighting until those oppressed are physically and intellectually
-
free. Thank you, Malala, for showing us how powerful
-
a single voice can be, for providing an example of real courage, and for reminding us that
-
the fight for human rights is not the responsibility of any one person, but is instead the responsibility
-
of us all.