Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban last year, tells the United Nations Youth Assembly, "I speak not for myself but for those without a voice...Those who have fought for their rights, their right to live in peace."By Ian Johnston, Staff Writer, NBC NewsMalala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot in the head by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, told an audience at the United Nations that her brush with death had only made her more determined.
“Dear friends, on the 9
th of October, 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends too,” she said in her first major public appearance. “They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed.”
Speaking on her 16th birthday, she said the "terrorists thought that 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."Youth delegates at the United Nations stand up and sing happy birthday to Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai on her 16th birthday. “I am the same Malala, my ambitions are the same, my hopes are the same and my dreams are the same.”
Introducing Malala to a Youth Assembly of nearly 1,000 students from around the world, former U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that it was a “miracle” that she was able to be there.
"Let me say the words the Taliban never wanted you to hear -- happy 16th birthday Malala," said Brown, now the U.N. Special Envoy for Global Education.
She was welcomed to the stage with a standing ovation as her mother, father and other family members watched.
Friday was declared Malala Day by the U.N. However, Malala said it was “not my day,” but a day for every woman, boy and girl struggling for their rights.
“Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured,” she said. “I am just one of them. So here I stand, one girl among many."
"I speak not for myself but for those without voice ... 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."
Her message to world leaders was that they should introduce “free, compulsory education” for all children across the globe.
She said she even wanted education for the “sons and daughters of the Taliban.”Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban last year, speaks at the United Nations on the importance of education.And Malala, who said that she was proud to wear a shawl that previously belonged to slain Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, said she had no desire for revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group.
“I do not even hate the Talib who shot me,” Malala said. “Even if there was a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me, I would not shoot him.”
She said she had learned this attitude from "Muhammad, the prophet of mercy, and Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha." She also said she was instead inspired by people like Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi and Mother Teresa.
Her philosophy was one of non-violence and the “forgiveness I’ve learned from my father and from my mother.”
She said the Taliban were “misusing the name of Islam ... for their own personal benefit.”
"The extremists were and they are afraid of books and pens, the power of education frightens them," Malala said. "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."
Islam, she said, was a religion of "peace, humanity and brotherhood" that enshrined education of children not just as a right but "a duty and responsibility."Gordon Brown introduces Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai to the UN Youth Assembly floor saying, "Let me say the words the Taliban never wanted you to hear. Happy 16th birthday Malala."Malala – dubbed “a symbol of hope, a daughter of the United Nations (http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=44574&Cr=mdg#.Ud_NJEGR9Zo)” by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon – spoke to a Youth Assembly of children and young people, aged 12 to 25, from 85 countries around the world.
She also presented Ban with a petition signed by nearly 4 million people in support of 57 million children who are not able to go to school and demanding that world leaders fund new teachers, schools and books and end child labor, marriage and trafficking.
Brown said that Friday’s event was not just a celebration of her birthday, but a “celebration of what you yourself have called your second life.”
He also said it was to celebrate “her vision, her dream” that “threats” or “assassins’ bullets” should never deny the right to education of “every single child.”
Brown thanked medical staff in Pakistan and the Britain who treated Malala and also her family for helping her recover so she could “do what the Taliban tried to stop her doing … go back to school.”Slideshow: Schoolgirl attacked by Taliban in Pakistan (http://slideshow.nbcnews.com/id/49402511/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=49402511&wbSection=news&wbSlideShowTeaseId=49402543)(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/_archive/News/_International%20News/ss-121013-malala/ss-121218-malala-tease.380;380;7;70;0.jpg) (http://slideshow.nbcnews.com/id/49402511/displaymode/1247/?wbSlideShowId=49402511&wbSection=news&wbSlideShowTeaseId=49402543) / Fifteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai was shot by the Taliban for speaking out against Pakistani militants and promoting education for girls. Launch slideshowMalala, who had been writing a blog for BBC News in which she supported education for girls, was shot along with two friends shortly after they left her school in Mingora, Swat, Pakistan. The Taliban later claimed responsibility for the attack.
The U.N. said in a statement that the Youth Assembly was held “to accelerate the goal of getting all children, especially girls, in school and learning by 2015.”
Speaking before Malala, Ban praised her for being “courageous” and “resilient” in the face of the Taliban.
“She was targeted just because of her determination to go to school,” he said. “The extremists showed what they fear most – a girl with a book.”
“When young people are educated then that’s what terrorists are fearful [of] most.”
NBC News' Amna Nawaz and Reuters contributed to this report.Related:- 'I want to tell my story': Malala Yousafzai memoir to be published this fall (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/27/17490294-i-want-to-tell-my-story-malala-yousafzai-memoir-to-be-published-this-fall?lite)
- 29 boarding school students burned alive, shot dead by Islamist militants in Nigeria (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/07/06/19318588-29-boarding-school-students-burned-alive-shot-dead-by-islamist-militants-in-nigeria?lite)
- 'Spy of the West': Al-Qaida, Taliban struggle to justify attack on Pakistani teen (http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/16/14479572-spy-of-the-west-al-qaida-taliban-struggle-to-justify-attack-on-pakistani-teen?lite)
This story was originally published on Fri Jul 12, 2013 6:39 AM EDT
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