WEBVTT

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Thank you.

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<i>Bismillah Er Rahman Er Rahman Er Rahim</i>

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

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Honourable UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon,

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Respected President General Assembly Vuk Jeremic,

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Honourable UN Envoy for Global Education Mr Gordon Brown,

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Respected elders and my dear brothers and sisters, <i>Assalam Aleikum</i>. Thank you.

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Today, it is an honour for me to be speaking again after a long time.

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Being here with such honourable people is a great moment in my life.

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And it is honor for me that today I'm wearing a shawl of Benazir Bhutto Shaheed.

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I don't know where to begin my speech.

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I don't know what people would be expecting me to say.

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But first of all,

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thank you to God for whom we all are equal

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and thank you to every person who has prayed for my fast recovery and a new life.

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I cannot believe how much love people have shown me.

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I have received thousands of good wish cards and gifts from all over the world.

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Thank you to all of them.

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Thank you to the children whose innocent words encouraged me.

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Thank you to my elders whose prayers strengthened me.

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I would like to thank my nurses, doctors

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and the staff of the hospitals in Pakistan

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and the UK, and the UAE government

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who have helped me to get better and recover my strength.

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I fully support Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General, in his Global Education First Initiative

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and the work of the UN Special Envoy

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Mr. Gordon Brown.

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and the respected President General Assembly Vuk Jeremic.

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I thank all of them for the leadership that they continue to give.

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They continue to inspire all of us to action.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

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Do remember one thing:

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Malala Day is not my day.

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Today is the day of every woman,

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every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights.

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There are hundreds of human rights activists

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and social workers who are not only speaking for their rights,

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but who are struggling to achieve their goal of peace, education, and equality.

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Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured.

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I'm just one of them.

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So here I stand

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So here I stand one girl among many.

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I speak, not for myself, but for those without voice can be heard.

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Those who have fought for their rights.

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Their right to live in peace.

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Their right to be treated with dignity.

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Their right to equality of opportunity.

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Their right to be educated.

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Dear Friends, on the 9th of October 2012,

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the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead.

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They shot my friends, too.

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They thought that the bullets would silence us.

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But they failed.

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And out of that silence came thousands of voices.

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The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions.

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But nothing changed in my life except this:

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weakness, fear, and hopelessness died;

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strength, power and courage was born.
[Applause]

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I am the same Malala.

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My ambitions are the same, my hopes are the same

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and my dreams are the same.

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Dear sisters and brothers,

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I'm not against anyone.

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Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban, or any other terrorists group.

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I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child.
[Applause]

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I want education for the sons and the daughters of the Taliban and all the terrorists and extremists.

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I do not even hate the Talib who shot me.

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Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me.

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I would not shoot him.

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This is the compassion that I have learnt from Muhammad, the Prophet of Mercy,

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and Jesus christ, and Lord Buddha.

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

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Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is --
[Applause]

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

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And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt from my father and from my mother. And --
[Applause]

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This is what my soul is telling me, be peaceful and love everyone.

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Dear sisters and brothers,

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We realize the importance of light when we see darkness.

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We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.

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In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan,

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we realized the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

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The wise saying, “The pen is mightier than sword" was true.

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The extremists were and they are afraid of books and pens.

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The power of education, the power of education frightens them.

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They are afraid of women.

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The power of the voice of women frightens them.

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And that is why they killed 14 innocent students in the recent attack in Quetta.

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And that is why they killed female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

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That is why they are blasting schools every day.

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Because they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of equality that we will bring into our society.

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And I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist:

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“Why are the Taliban against education?"

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He answered very simply,

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by pointing to his book, he said:

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“A Talib doesn't know what is written inside this book."

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They think that God is a tiny, little conservative being

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who'd send girls to the hell just because of going to school.

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The terrorists are misusing the name of Islam and Pashtun society for their own personal benefits.
[Applause]

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Pakistan is a peace-loving democratic country.

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Pashtuns want education for their daughters and sons.

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And Islam is a religion of peace, humanity and brotherhood.

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Islam says it's not only each child's right to get education, rather it is their duty and responsibility.

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Honourable Secretary General,

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Peace is necessary for education.

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In many parts of the world especially Pakistan and Afghanistan,

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terrorism, wars, and conflicts stop children to go to their schools.

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We are really tired of these wars.

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Women and children are suffering in many ways,

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in many parts of the world.

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In India, innocent and poor children are victims of child labour.

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Many schools have been destroyed in Nigeria.

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People in Afghanistan have been affected by the hurdles of extremism for decades.

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Young girls have to do domestic child labour and are forced to get married at early age.

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

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are the main problems faced by both men and women.

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Dear fellows, today I am focusing on women's rights and girls' education

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because they are suffering the most.

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There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights.

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But this time, we will do it by ourselves.
[Applause]

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

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Rather, I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves.

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So dear sisters and brothers, now it's time to speak up.

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So today, we call upon the world leaders to change their strategic policies in favour of peace and prosperity.

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We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women's and children's rights.

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A deal that goes against the rights of women is unacceptable.
[Applause]

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We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education

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all over the world for every child.
[Applause]

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We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence,

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to protect children from brutality and harm.

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We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities

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for girls in the developing world.

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We call upon all the communities to be tolerant,

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to reject prejudice based on caste, creed, sect, color, religion, or gender.

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To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can flourish.

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We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

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We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave,

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to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.

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Dear brothers and sisters, we want schools and education for every child's bright future.

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We will continue our journey to our destination of peace and education.

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No one can stop us.

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We will speak up for our rights and we will bring change through our voice.

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We believe in the power and the strength of our words.

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Our words can change the whole world,

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because we are all together, united for the cause of education.

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And if we want to achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge

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and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.

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Dear brothers and sisters,

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We must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty,

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injustice, and ignorance.

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We must not forget that millions of children are out of their schools.

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We must not forget that our sisters and brothers are waiting for a bright peaceful future.

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So let us wage,

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so let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty, and terrorism.

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

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They are our most powerful weapons.

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One child, one teacher, one book, and one pen can change the world.

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Education is the only solution.

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Education First.

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Thank you.
[Applause...]