Malala Yousafzai: "Education for Girls," United Nations Youth Assembly (2013)
Malala Yousafzai addresses United Nations Youth Assembly (2013)
United Nations, New York, 12 July 2013 - Education activist Malala Yousafzai marks her 16th birthday, on Friday, 12 July 2013 at the United Nations by giving her first high-level public appearance and statement on the importance of education.
Malala became a public figure when she was shot by the Taliban while travelling to school last year in Pakistan -- targeted because of her committed campaigning for the right of all girls to an education. Flown to the United Kingdom to recover, she is now back at school and continues to advocate for every child's right to education.
In support of the UN Secretary-General's Global Education First Initiative (GEFI), on 12 July -- declared as "Malala Day" -- the President of the UN General Assembly and the UN Special Envoy for Global Education with the support of A World at School initiative are organizing the UN Youth Assembly, where more than 500 young leaders from around the world will convene to accelerate the goal of getting all children, especially girls, in school and learning by 2015.
SOURCE: United Nations (2013), posted on YouTube, Duration: 17:42 mins, URL: https://youtu.be/3rNhZu3ttIU
Malala Yousafzai's UN speech | Channel 4 News
In her first speech since the Taliban in Pakistan tried to kill her for advocating education for girls, Malala Yousafzai celebrated her 16th birthday on Friday at the United Nations, appealing for compulsory free schooling for all children.
SOURCE: Channel 4 News (2013), posted on YouTube, Duration: 2:02 mins, URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrasFcGqM_s
Emma Watson Interviews Malala Yousafzai
Watch Emma Watson’s Emotional, Engaging Interview with Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai. Although the two have completely different backgrounds, Watson and Yousafzai proved to be the perfect conversational match, as both are young, eloquent activists who have delivered powerful speeches at the U.N. During the course of the conversation, which opened the Into Film Festival, the two discussed He Named Me Malala, the documentary inspired by Yousafzai’s story; a potential female president for the U.S.; and why feminism can be such a tricky word. In this speech, Malala also quotes: "There is nothing wrong in calling yourself a feminist. So I am a feminist, and we all should be feminists because feminism is another word for equality."
SOURCE: English Speeches (2020), posted on YouTube, Duartion: 22:56 mins, URL: https://youtu.be/KtjaB1SnA7Y
Context/Background
New Delhi: As a 16-year-old, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai had made an impassioned speech about gender equality in education at the United Nations headquarters on 12 July, 2013. Her speech received a standing ovation from all delegates. So powerful it was that the UN soon declared the day, also her birthday, as ‘Malala Day’ to honour the young activist.
Born on 12 July, 1997 in the mountainous Swat Valley of Pakistan, Malala attended a girls’ school — one of many set up by her father Ziauddin Yousafzai, who is also an education activist.
In October 2007, the valley fell under the control of Taliban militants and their harsh interpretation of Islamic law prohibited girls from attending school. Devastated, an 11-year-old Malala began an anonymous blog for BBC in which she had penned down her experiences under the oppressive regime.
She quickly became a voice of protest but was soon brutally attacked by the Taliban. In 2012, a Taliban gunman boarded her school bus and shot her in the head, while also injuring two of her friends. She survived the near-fatal attack after receiving specialist medical treatment in the UK where she was later granted asylum.
The attack failed to stop her and Malala soon transformed into an international figure fighting global illiteracy and terrorism.
In her landmark UN speech, she had implored for peace, equal opportunity and worldwide access to education for children. A year later, in 2014, she shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian child’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
In a press release, the Norwegian Nobel Committee had then stated: “Despite her young age, Malala has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.”
In her prize acceptance speech, she had pointed out how the Taliban’s clamp-down on education was a misinterpretation of the Islamic faith, reminding people that “…the first word of the Quran is ‘Iqra’ which means to read.”
She was congratulated on her win by several heads of state and celebrities around the world, including former US President Barack Obama, who said, “At just 17 years old, Malala has inspired people around the world with her passion and determination to make sure girls everywhere can get an education. When the Taliban tried to silence her, Malala answered their brutality with strength and resolve… We were awe-struck by her courage and filled with hope knowing this is only the beginning of her extraordinary efforts to make the world a better place.”
Today, at age 22, the youngest-ever Nobel Laureate studies philosophy, politics and economics at the Oxford University.
SOURCE: The print (2019) On Malala Day, a look back at her powerful UN speech that continues to inspire, URL: https://theprint.in/theprint-profile/on-malala-day-a-look-back-at-her-powerful-un-speech-that-continues-to-inspire/261890/
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| Biography of Speaker | Article: Youngest winner of Peace Prize | Close Reading: UN Speach |