Malala Yousafzai’s Speechat the Youth Takeover of the United Nations
同志社国際中学校

１年

桑迫華

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 andsocial workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are
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struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousandsof people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. Iam just one of them.

So here I stand . . . one girl among many.

I speak ― not for myself, but for all girls and boys.

I raise up my voice ― not so that I can shout, but so that those without avoice 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 sideof my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets

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would silence us. But they failed. And then, 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 thesame Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams
are the same.

Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the importance of light when we seesame way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realised theimportance of pens and books when we saw the guns. The wise saying, “Thepen is mightier than sword” was true.

Honourable Secretary General, peace is necessary for education. In many partsof the world especially Pakistan and Afghanistan; terrorism, wars and conflicts
stop children to go to their schools. We are really tired of these wars. Womenand children are suffering in many parts of the world in many ways

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 andprosperity.

We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect womenand children’s rights. A deal that goes against the dignity of women and theirrights is unacceptable.

We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every
child all over the world.

We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to35

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darkness. We realise the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In theprotect children from brutality and harm.

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 andeducation for everyone. No one can stop us. We will speak for our rights andwe will bring change through our voice. We must believe in the power andthe strength of our words. Our words can change the world.

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Because we are all together, united for the cause of education. And if we wantto achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon ofknowledge and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people aresuffering from poverty, injustice and ignorance. We must not forget thatmillions of children are out of schools. We must not forget that our sisters
and brothers are waiting for a bright peaceful future.

So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism andlet us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One
child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world.

Education is the only solution. Education First.

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