pakistan: Malala rallies youth to stand up for universal education

 Ms. Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban for attending school, on Friday addressed hundreds of young people at the UN headquarters in New York, urging them to use education as a weapon against extremism.

'Let us pick up our books and our pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One teacher, one book, one pen, can change the world,” Ms. Yousafzai said, in an address to the UN Youth Assembly.

The Pakistan schoolgirl, who marked her 16th birthday on Friday, told the gathering that the Taliban attack nine months ago changed nothing in her life.

'The extremists were, and they are, afraid of books and pens, and the power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women,' she stated.

She called on governments and the UN to strengthen action against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism, saying 'let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.'

'So here I stand, one girl part a lot of. 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 a voice can be heard,' Ms. Yousafzai said.

Describing the terrible October 2012 incident that only strengthened her resolve, she said the Taliban shot her on the left side of her forehead.

'They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed... the incident instead gave birth to 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 were born. I am the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same,' Ms. Yousafzai stressed.

She called on world leaders to change their strategic policies in favour of peace and prosperity.

'We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for each child all over the world, and as well to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm,' she said.

In his remarks, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Ms. Yousafzai, praising her courage and determination.

'Malala chose to mark her 16th birthday with the world,” Ban said, noting the strong support she had received from millions of people all over the world was a clear sign.

'Malala, you are not alone. We are all with you, standing behind you'.

He reiterated the UN's commitment to give access to quality education to each girl and boy through its World Education Initial Initiative which has three priorities namely, to put each child in school, improve the quality of learning and foster world citizenship.

'No child should have to die for going to school. Nowhere should teachers fear to teach or children fear to learn. Together, we can change the picture,” he said.

The UN chief encouraged the students gathered at the Youth Assembly, to continue to voice their concerns on issues that matter to them.

'I urge you to keep speaking out. Keep raising the pressure. Keep making a difference. You are sending a message – a message of hope and empowerment, a message of dignity and opportunity. All of you are on the frontlines,' Ban said.

The President of the UN General Assembly, Mr. Vuk Jeremic underlined the urgency of providing access to education to each child regardless of factors like geography, gender, disability, language, wealth and ethnicity.

He called on UN member states to act quickly to avoid further disparities in education levels.

He stressed that the quality of education should be improved, providing young people with the necessary skills to succeed in the current world economy.

'School enrollment is nothing additional than a necessary foundation upon which to build a 21st century set of educational standards,” Mr. Jeremic said.

'Basic literacy should not be seen as an end in itself, but merely as a baseline tool for teaching cognition, mathematics, problem-solving, and creative thinking,' he added.

The conference, which featured nearly 1,000 youth leaders, was addressed by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in his capacity as UN Appropriate Envoy for World Education.

Mr. Brown told the Youth Assembly: 'You cannot say there is anything other than an education emergency that we need to solve.'

With that in mind, he hailed young people as 'the new superpower in the world' with the capability to overcome all obstacles to access education.

On 17 June, the former UK PM launched a worldwide petition calling for urgent action to ensure the right of each child to safely to attend school.

Ms. Yousafzai was the initial signatory and since again additional than one million people have
signed the petition.