malala yousafzai english presentation

Malala Yousafzai

Girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban at age 15 and is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

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1997-present

Latest News: Malala Yousafzai Calls for Full Cease-Fire in the Israel-Hamas War

The 26-year-old began advocating for peace in the region soon after the conflict began on October 7. She witnessed violence while growing up in Pakistan and became a target, herself, surviving an assassination attempt as a teenager, after speaking up against the Taliban’s prohibition on girls’ education. Last month, Yousafzai said she donated $300,000 to three charities helping Palestinians and encouraged the public to sign a petition demanding Israel stop attacking schools and both sides release their child hostages.

Quick Facts

Early life and activism, shot by the taliban, u.n. speech on malala day, malala fund.

• I Am Malala, Other Books, and Documentary

Return to Pakistan

Recent years and 2023 oscars appearance, who is malala yousafzai.

Malala Yousafzai, often known simply as Malala, is a Pakistani girls’ education activist who survived an assassination attempt at age 15 and became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. Yousafzai began advocating for girls’ education when she was still a child, which resulted in the Taliban issuing a death threat against her. In October 2012, a gunman shot Yousafzai when she was traveling home from school. The activist survived, became a Nobel laureate at age 17, and continues her work through her international nonprofit, Malala Fund. She has written several books, including the best-selling memoir I Am Malala , and helped produce the 2022 Oscar-nominated documentary short Stranger at the Gate .

FULL NAME: Malala Yousafzai BORN: July 12, 1997 BIRTHPLACE: Mingora, Pakistan SPOUSE: Asser Malik (2021-present) ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Cancer

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan, located in the country’s northern Swat Valley. For the first few years of her life, Yousafzai’s hometown remained a popular tourist spot that was known for its summer festivals. The area began to change as the Taliban tried to take control.

Yousafzai’s father, Ziauddin, is an educator, but her mother, Tor Pekai, was illiterate until she was in her 40s. The couple always supported their daughter’s education. Malala attended a school that her father had founded.

After the Taliban began attacking girls schools in Swat, 11-year-old Yousafzai gave a speech in Peshawar, Pakistan, in September 2008. The title of her talk was, “How Dare the Taliban Take Away My Basic Right to Education?” In early 2009, Yousafzai began blogging for the BBC about living under the Taliban’s threats to deny her an education. In order to hide her identity, she used the name Gul Makai. However, her identity was revealed that December.

With a growing public platform, Yousafzai continued to speak out about her right, and the right of all women, to an education. Her activism resulted in a nomination for the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2011. That same year, she was awarded Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize.

Yousafzai and her family learned that the Taliban had issued a death threat against her because of her activism. Although Malala was frightened for the safety of her father—an anti-Taliban activist—she and her family initially felt that the fundamentalist group would not actually harm a child.

On October 9, 2012, when 15-year-old Yousafzai was riding a bus with friends on their way home from school, a masked gunman boarded the bus and demanded to know which girl was Yousafzai. When friends looked toward her, Yousafzai was given away. The gunman fired at her, hitting the girl in the left side of her head; the bullet then traveled down her neck. Two other girls were also injured in the attack.

The shooting left Yousafzai in critical condition, so she was flown to a military hospital in Peshawar. A portion of her skull was removed to treat her swelling brain. To receive further care, she was transferred to Birmingham, England, which became her family’s new home.

Once she was in the United Kingdom, Yousafzai was taken out of a medically induced coma. Although she would require multiple surgeries—including repair of a facial nerve to fix the paralyzed left side of her face—she had suffered no major brain damage. In March 2013, she was able to begin attending school in Birmingham.

The shooting resulted in a massive outpouring of support for Yousafzai that continued during her recovery and today. Although the Taliban still considers Yousafzai a target, she remains a staunch advocate for the power of education.

Nearly two years after the attack, Pakistani authorities arrested 10 Taliban militants for their part in the assassination attempt. Most were acquitted in April 2015 due to lack of evidence, meanwhile two men were convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Ehsanullah Ehsan, the alleged shooter who is also connected to other terrorist activities, was arrested in February 2017 but escaped custody in early 2020.

Nine months after being shot by the Taliban, Yousafzai gave a speech at the United Nations on July 12, 2013—her 16 th birthday. It was her first speaking in public since the attack. Yousafzai highlighted her primary causes of education and women’s rights, while urging world leaders to introduce peace and prosperity, as well as fund mandatory education for all. She encouraged other activists to continue speaking out and appealed to individuals to end any prejudices they hold:

“The extremists were, and they are, afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women... Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.”

Of the Taliban’s attack, Yousafzai said, “They thought that the bullets would silence us. But they failed... 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.”

The United Nations declared July 12 “Malala Day” in honor of the young leader’s activism to ensure education for all children. The U.N. Secretary-General at the time, Ban Ki-moon, said at the event : “Malala chose to mark her 16 th birthday at the United Nations, celebrating her cause for education... 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.”

Two months after Yousafzai was shot, UNESCO and the Pakistan government created the Malala Fund for Girls’ Education. Then, in 2013, Yousafzai and her father launched the similarly named nonprofit, Malala Fund, that works to ensure girls around the world have access to 12 years of free and safe education.

The nonprofit primarily supports its Education Champion Network—previously known as its Gulmakai Network, a reference to the pseudonym Yousafzai used when she wrote for the BBC—of local activists in places where many girls don’t receive secondary education. The network has grown to include 10 countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Lebanon, Nigeria, Pakistan, Tanzania, and Turkey.

For her 18 th birthday, in July 2015, Yousafzai continued to take action on global education by opening a school for Syrian refugee girls in Lebanon. Its expenses covered by the Malala Fund, the school was designed to admit nearly 200 girls from the ages of 14 to 18. “Today on my first day as an adult, on behalf of the world’s children, I demand of leaders we must invest in books instead of bullets,” Yousafzai proclaimed in one of the school’s classrooms.

That day, she wrote on The Malala Fund website:

“The shocking truth is that world leaders have the money to fully fund primary AND secondary education around the world—but they are choosing to spend it on other things, like their military budgets. In fact, if the whole world stopped spending money on the military for just eight days, we could have the $39 billion still needed to provide 12 years of free, quality education to every child on the planet.”

In January 2018, Apple announced it was partnering with Malala Fund to help provide education to more than 100,000 girls around the world. The company pledged to contribute money and technology, as well as assist with curriculum and policy research.

According to the Malala Fund website, the organization has invested more than $47 million in total across its various programs.

Yousafzai has received a host of awards and honors to date. Chief among them is the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, which she received along with Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.” Yousafzai, then just 17 years old, became the youngest person—and first Pakistani—to receive the Nobel Peace Prize when the announcement was made in October 2014. It was her second time being nominated for the prestigious award.

In congratulating Yousafzai, then–Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif said in a statement : “She is [the] pride of Pakistan, she has made her countrymen proud. Her achievement is unparalleled and unequaled. Girls and boys of the world should take lead from her struggle and commitment.” Then–U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon described Yousafzai as “a brave and gentle advocate of peace who, through the simple act of going to school, became a global teacher.”

Additionally, Yousafzai was awarded Pakistan’s first National Youth Peace Prize in 2011. The award has since been renamed in her honor as the National Malala Peace Prize. She is also the recipient of:

• the 2012 Mother Teresa Memorial Award,
• France’s 2013 Simone de Beauvoir Prize for Women’s Freedom,
• the European Parliament’s 2013 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought,
• the 2014 Liberty Medal from the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, and
• the 2018 Gleitsman Award from Harvard University’s Center for Public Leadership.

She was shortlisted for Time ’s Person of the Year in 2012 (the year then-President Barack Obama earned the honor) and named to the Time 100 the following year.

In April 2017, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Yousafzai as a U.N. Messenger of Peace, the youngest in history, to promote girls’ education. The appointment is the highest honor given by the United Nations for an initial period of two years.

That same month, Yousafzai was also given honorary Canadian citizenship. She is the sixth person and the youngest in the country’s history to receive the honor.

I Am Malala , Other Books, and Documentary

Yousafzai has written several books, including the October 2013 memoir I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban . It became an international bestseller. The book was abridged in 2014 for a young readers edition and again in an illustrated version for kids as 2018’s Malala: My Story of Standing Up for Girls’ Rights .

I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban

The international activist has published two more children’s books about her life: Malala’s Magic Pencil in October 2017 and My Name Is Malala in October 2022.

Her second book for adults released in 2018. We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World explores Yousafzai’s story as well as the stories of girls she met in her travels to refugee camps in Colombia, Guatemala, Syria, and Yemen.

Yousafzai gave the world more insight into her daily life in the 2015 documentary He Named Me Malala . Directed by Davis Guggenheim ( An Inconvenient Truth and Waiting for Superman ), the film gave viewers an intimate look into the life of Yousafzai, her family, and her commitment to supporting education for girls around the world.

In April 2023, Yousafzai and publisher Atria Books announced she is working on a new memoir. Atria described the untitled work as a “breathtaking story of recovery and search of identity, a candid exploration of her coming-of-age in the public spotlight, and an intimate look at her life today.”

Through all her activism, Yousafzai remained committed to her own education. She graduated from Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, in July 2017. She continued her studies at Oxford University that fall.

On March 29, 2018, the Oxford student returned to Pakistan for the first time since her brutal 2012 attack. Not long after arriving, Yousafzai met with then–Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi and delivered an emotional speech at his office.“In the last five years, I have always dreamed of coming back to my country,” she said . “I never wanted to leave.” Yousafzai also visited her former home and a military-run cadet college in Mingora during her four-day trip.

In June 2020, Yousafzai graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics. The following March, Apple announced the start of a multiyear programming partnership with the activist. The company stated that Yousafzai and her production company Extracurricular would create original programming across multiple genres for Apple TV+ that draw on her ability to inspire people around the world. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Apple to help bring these stories to life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to support women, young people, writers, and artists in reflecting the world as they see it,” she said .

Separately, Yousafzai served as an executive producer on the 2022 short documentary film Stranger at the Gate , which tells the story of how a former U.S. marine planned to commit a terrorist attack at an Indiana mosque before meeting the congregants there and finding his extreme beliefs challenged. Stranger at the Gate was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Film, leading Yousafzai to attend the 2023 Oscars ceremony in Los Angeles with her husband. “It’s been so surreal. There are so many beautiful, gorgeous people by my side,” she told ABC in a red carpet interview.

Although her film didn’t win, Yousafzai was involved in a memorably awkward moment with host Jimmy Kimmel . During a segment in which Kimmel read fake viewer questions to celebrity attendees, he asked the Nobel Prize winner about the viral “spitgate” controversy involving actors Harry Styles and Chris Pine . When Yousafzai gave an evasive response, Kimmel commended her and jokingly quipped that the winner of the night is “Malala Land,” a reference to the 2016 musical La La Land . Although many viewers felt the exchange was disrespectful, Yousafzai addressed the situation with a tweet that simply said, “Treat people with kindness.”

While attending Oxford in summer 2018, Yousafzai met Asser Malik, who was visiting friends on campus. Despite Malala’s reservations about marriage— she said in a 2021 essay she believed she wouldn’t marry until she was at least 35 years old, if at all—the pair wed in November 2021 in Birmingham.

In addition to their educational backgrounds—similar to Yousafzai, Malik earned a degree in economics and political science in 2012—the pair have bonded over their mutual love of cricket. Malik works for the sport’s governing body in Pakistan and is the co-founder of an amateur league.

Yousafzai said in 2021 her time together with Malik helped her see that she could “remain true to my values of equality, fairness, and integrity” while simultaneously being in a relationship. “I still don’t have all the answers for the challenges facing women—but I believe that I can enjoy friendship, love, and equality in marriage,” she told British Vogue .

• Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.
• If I win [the] Nobel Peace Prize, it would be a great opportunity for me, but if I don’t get it, it’s not important because my goal is not to get Nobel Peace Prize, my goal is to get peace, and my goal is to see the education of every child.
• 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. They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed.
• I want people to remember that Pakistan is my country. Even if its people hate me, I will still love it.
• I am only talking about education, women’s rights, and peace. I want poverty to end in tomorrow’s Pakistan. I want every girl in Pakistan to go to school.
• I am still the old Malala. I still try to live normally, but yes, my life has changed a lot.
• Education is neither eastern nor western. Education is education, and it’s the right of every human being.

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He Named Me Malala

He Named Me Malala is a film about the Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai. Learn more about her incredible life story by watching this trailer.  

Instructions

Do the preparation task first. Then watch the video and do the exercise. Remember you can read the transcript at any time.

Preparation

Malala: There is a moment when you have to choose whether to be silent or to stand up.

Presenters: Tonight Malala remains in intensive care. She was shot in the head for daring to suggest girls should go to school.

Malala’s father: Me and my wife, we cried all the night. The doctors told me, she will survive but she may not be the same as she was.

Malala: They shot me on the left side of my head. They thought that the bullet would silence us. I am the same Malala!                I’m still seventeen, I’m still a teenager.

Malala’s younger brother: She’s still a little bit naughty, little bit … that much ...

Presenter: Who would you have been if you were just an ordinary girl from the Swat Valley?

Malala: I am still an ordinary girl but if I had an ordinary father and an ordinary mother then I would have two children now. This is my youngest brother, he’s a really good boy. This is the laziest one.               My father said, 'have you forgiven them?’

Presenter : You've never felt angry?

Malala: No! I want people to learn from the experience I had.

Man shaking hands with Malala: … very nice to see you!

Malala: Nice to see you.

Malala on television: A woman is more powerful than men!

Malala: In this new school, it’s hard. Physics … sixty one per cent.

Presenter: Do you think you could ever ask a boy out on a date?

Malala: Ha ha ha … Roger Federer …

Presenter: You like him?

Malala:  Ha ha ha.

Malala’s younger brother: I like his haircut.

An extraordinary true story

Malala: When I think of home I miss the dirty streets. I miss the river.  I miss my friends. I just want to see that house, just once.

On screen: ABOUT A GIRL

Presenter: You named her after a girl who spoke out and was killed. It’s almost as if you said she'll be different.

Malala’s father: You are right!

On screen: WHOSE WORDS ARE MIGHTIER THAN ANY WEAPON

Malala: I am those 66 million girls who are deprived of education. I am not a lone voice. I am many! Our voices are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen … they can change the world.

On screen: 2014 RECIPIENT - NOBEL PEACE PRIZE 

Malala: My father only gave me the name Malala, he didn’t make me Malala. I chose this life and now I must continue with it.

HE NAMED ME MALALA

© Searchlight Pictures

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Malala Yousafzai

At age eleven, Malala Yousafzai was already advocating for the rights of women and girls. As an outspoken proponent for girls’ right to education, Yousafzai was often in danger because of her beliefs. However, even after being shot by the Taliban, she continued her activism and founded the Malala Fund with her father. By age seventeen, Yousafzai became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for her work.

Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. Mingora is the largest city in the Swat Valley of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province in Pakistan. Yousafzai was the first of three children born to Ziauddin and Tor Pekai Yousafzai. Although it was not always easy to raise a girl child in Pakistan, Malala Yousafzai’s father insisted that she received all of the same opportunities afforded to boy children. Her father was a teacher and education advocate that ran a girls’ school in their village. Due to his influence, Yousafzai was passionate about knowledge from a very young age, and she would often waddle into her father’s classes before she could even talk. However, by the time she was ten years old, Taliban extremists began to take control of the Swat Valley and many of her favorite things were banned. Girls were no longer able to attend school, and owning a television, playing music and dancing were all prohibited. Girl’s education was specifically targeted by the Taliban and by the end of 2008 they had destroyed over 400 schools. At eleven years old, Yousafzai decided to stand up to the Taliban.

Yousafzai started by blogging anonymously for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) in early 2009. She used the penname, “Gul Makai,” and spoke about her life under Taliban rule and how much she wanted to attend school. Her first BBC diary entry entitled, “I Am Afraid,” detailed her nightmares about a full-blown war in her hometown. Her nightmares started to become reality, as Yousafzai and her family were soon forced to leave their home due to rising tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban. This did not stop Yousafzai from advocating for her right to attend school. Over the next few years, she and her father began speaking out on behalf of girls’ education in the media. They campaigned for Pakistani girls’ access to a free quality education. By 2011, Yousafzai was nominated for the International Children’s Peace Prize. Although she did not win, that same year she earned Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize. Yousafzai was now a household name. However, this also made her a target.

On October 9, 2012, fifteen-year old Yousafzai was on the bus returning from school with her friends. Two members of the Taliban stopped the bus and asked, “Who is Malala?” When they identified Yousafzai, they shot her in the head. Fortunately, she was airlifted to a Pakistani military hospital and then taken to an intensive care unit in England. After ten days in a medically induced coma, Yousafzai woke up in a hospital in Birmingham, England. She had suffered no major brain damage, but the left side of her face was paralyzed, and she would require many reparative surgeries and rehabilitation. After months of medical treatment, Yousafzai was able to return to her family that now lived in England. In March 2013, Yousafzai began attending school in Birmingham. Although she was now able to attend school in England, she decided to keep fighting “until every girl could go to school.” [1] On her sixteenth birthday, Yousafzai spoke at the United Nations in New York. That same year she published her autobiography entitled, “I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban.” She was awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought by the European Parliament for her activism.

In 2014, Yousafzai and her father established the Malala Fund to internationally support and advocate for women and girls. Through her charity, she met with Syrian refugees in Jordan, young women students in Kenya, and spoke out in Nigeria against the terrorist group Boko Haram that abducted young girls to stop them from going to school. In December of 2014, Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work. At age seventeen, she became the youngest person to be named a Nobel laureate. Since then, Yousafzai has continued to advocate for the rights of women and girls. The Malala Fund advocates for quality education for all girls by funding education projects internationally, partnering with global leaders and local advocates, and pioneering innovative strategies to empower young women. Yousafzai is currently studying Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford.

[1] Yousafzai , Malala. “Malala's Story: Malala Fund.” Malala Fund. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://malala.org/malalas-story.

• Brenner, Marie. “Malala Yousafzai: The 15-Year-Old Pakistani Girl Who Wanted More from Her Country.” Vanity Fair. Vanity Fair, January 29, 2015. https://www.vanityfair.com/news/politics/2013/04/malala-yousafzai-pakistan-profile.
• The Nobel Foundation. “Malala Yousafzai: Biographical.” NobelPrize.org. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/biographical/
• Yousafzai, Malala, and Christina Lamb.  I Am Malala: the Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban . London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2013.
• Yousafzai , Malala. “Malala's Story: Malala Fund.” Malala Fund. Accessed March 14, 2020. https://malala.org/malalas-story.

Photo: Public domain.

MLA – Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Malala Yousafzai.” National Women’s History Museum, 2020. Date accessed.

Chicago – Alexander, Kerri Lee. “Malala Yousafzai.” National Women’s History Museum. 2020. www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/malala-yousafzai.

• BBC News. “Profile: Malala Yousafzai.” BBC, August 17, 2017. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-23241937.
• Time Magazine. “Malala Yousafzai: 100 Women of the Year.” Time, March 5, 2020. https://time.com/5793780/malala-yousafzai-100-women-of-the-year/.

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Malala Yousafzai: 16th birthday speech at the United Nations

"So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons." {"content":{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"content":[{"data":{},"marks":[],"value":"\"So let us wage a global struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism and let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons.\"","nodeType":"text"}],"nodeType":"paragraph"}],"nodeType":"document"}}

New York, New York

Bismillah hir rahman ir rahim. In the name of God, the most merciful, the most beneficent.

Honourable UN Secretary General Mr Ban Ki-moon, Respected President General Assembly Vuk Jeremic Honourable UN envoy for Global education Mr Gordon Brown, Respected elders and my dear brothers and sisters; Today, it is an honour for me to be speaking again after a long time. Being here with such honourable people is a great moment in my life.

I don't know where to begin my speech. I don't know what people would be expecting me to say. But first of all, thank you to God for whom we all are equal and thank you to every person who has prayed for my fast recovery and a new life. I cannot believe how much love people have shown me. I have received thousands of good wish cards and gifts from all over the world. Thank you to all of them. Thank you to the children whose innocent words encouraged me. Thank you to my elders whose prayers strengthened me.

I would like to thank my nurses, doctors and all of the staff of the hospitals in Pakistan and the UK and the UAE government who have helped me get better and recover my strength. I fully support Mr Ban Ki-moon the Secretary-General in his Global Education First Initiative and the work of the UN Special Envoy Mr Gordon Brown. And I thank them both for the leadership they continue to give. They continue to inspire all of us to action.

There are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am 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 a voice 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 side of my forehead. They shot my friends too. They thought that the bullets 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 the same Malala. My ambitions are the same. My hopes are the same. My dreams are the same.

Dear sisters and brothers, I am not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorists group. I am here to speak up for the right of education of every child. I want education for the sons and the daughters of all the extremists especially the Taliban.

I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he stands in front of me. I would not shoot him. This is the compassion that I have learnt from Muhammad — the prophet of mercy, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. This is the legacy of change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from Gandhi Jee, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. And this is the forgiveness that I have learnt from my mother and father. This is what my soul is telling me, be peaceful and love everyone.

Dear sisters and brothers, we realise the importance of light when we see darkness. We realise the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realised the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

The wise saying, "The pen is mightier than sword” was true. The extremists are afraid of books and pens. The power of education frightens them. They are afraid of women. The power of the voice of women frightens them. And that is why they killed 14 innocent medical students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed many female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa and FATA. That is why they are blasting schools every day. Because they were and they are afraid of change, afraid of the equality that we will bring into our society.

I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, "Why are the Taliban against education?” He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he said, “A Talib doesn't know what is written inside this book.” They think that God is a tiny, little conservative being who would send girls to the hell just because of going to school. The terrorists are misusing the name of Islam and Pashtun society for their own personal benefits. Pakistan is peace-loving democratic country. Pashtuns want education for their daughters and sons. And Islam is a religion of peace, humanity and brotherhood. Islam says that it is not only each child's right to get education, rather it is their duty and responsibility.

Honourable Secretary General, peace is necessary for education. In many parts of the world especially Pakistan and Afghanistan; terrorism, wars and conflicts stop children to go to their schools. We are really tired of these wars. Women and children are suffering in many parts of the world in many ways. In India, innocent and poor children are victims of child labour. Many schools have been destroyed in Nigeria. People in Afghanistan have been affected by the hurdles of extremism for decades. Young girls have to do domestic child labour and are forced to get married at early age. Poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism and the deprivation of basic rights are the main problems faced by both men and women.

Dear fellows, today I am focusing on women's rights and girls' education because they are suffering the most. There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women's rights rather I am focusing on women to be independent to fight for themselves.

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 and prosperity.

We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women and children's rights. A deal that goes against the dignity of women and their rights 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, to protect children from brutality and harm.

We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities for girls in the developing world.

We call upon all communities to be tolerant — to reject prejudice based on cast, creed, sect, religion or gender. To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can flourish. We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave — to embrace the strength within themselves and realise their full potential.

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

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

Dear brothers and sisters, we must not forget that millions of people are suffering from poverty, injustice and ignorance. We must not forget that millions 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 and let 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.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist, student, UN messenger of peace and the youngest Nobel Laureate. As co-founder of Malala Fund, she is building a world where every girl can learn and lead without fear.

Malala Yousafzai

Type of English

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I want to learn

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

Type of English: General English

Tags: Celebrities and historical figures education, teaching, and learning historical events people and places society and change 18+ years old 16-18 years old 13-15 years old Vocabulary and grammar

Publication date: 07/16/2022

This audio-aided lesson tells the story of Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai (born in 1997). The lesson focuses on vocabulary, listening comprehension, and speaking and includes a short look at using tense in biographies. There is also an optional discussion extension activity about how educating girls benefits individuals and society.

by Stephanie Hirschman

Malala_Be.mp3

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COURSE PLANS

This comprehensive course plan covers the full range of language needs – listening, role play, vocabulary development.

Worksheets in Biographies course plan

Type of English: General English Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)

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MALALA - oral presentation

Created on January 30, 2021

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Created by Mª Paz Casado - February-2021

you can write a subtitle here

MALALAYOUSAFZAI

By Mª Paz Casado - Februar y - 2021

* Who Malala is * Her background * Some of her life * Her books * Her fundation * Laureate and extensively awarded* Why I have chosen Malala

WHO MALALA IS

Malala is a young Pakistani acvitist for female education. She speaks fluently Pashto, Urdu and English. She aspired to become a doctor but her father encouraged her to be a politician instead

HER BACKGROUND

WRITE YOUR TITLE HERE

Malala was born in Pakistan in the Swat Valley on July 12th of 1997 into a lower-middle -class family.She is the oldest of three siblings.Her father was a teacher and ran a chaine of girl's schools

In 2007 when the Taliban took control of Malala's town, everything changed.

SOME OF HER LIFE

The extremists banned many things They ordered to close for ever the girl's school. Women could no longer go to school.Talibans were afraid of education, equality and the power of women

Despite the harsh punishments enforced for those who defied the Taliban orders. Malala spoke out publicly on behalf of girls and their right to learnThis triggered she to be a target of the Taliban's persecution

She was shot on her head and neck. She had emergency treatment in Pakistan, being in coma during 10 days. Then she was moved to Birmingham UK

In October 2012 on her way home a masked gunman boarded her school bus asking "Who is Malala?"

After many months of surgeries an reabilitation, she realized that she had to choose between living a quiet life or to continue her fight until every girl could go to school.

She had two five-hour long operations in which a titanium plate was put over the hole in her skull and a cochlear implant so she could hear again.

"Taliban failed to silence us" "I don't even hate the Taliban who shot me,"

On 12 July 2013, aged 16, Malala made a speech at the headquarter of the UN defending the right to education, the human rights and peace and non-violence, against terrorism and intolerance citing de proverb "The pen is mightier than the sword"

This book, published in 2017, shows Malala growing up in Swat, and wishing for a magic pencil. She would use it to make everyone happy.

Published in 2019 "We are displaced" collects stories that show that refugees are ordinary people caught up in extraordinary circumstances.

"I am Malala" is a novel based on her biography. It is the remarkable tale of a family uprooted by global terrorism. It was publish in October 2013

With her father support, who always was her inspiration and ally, she set up in London -Malala-fund- an international, non profit organization dedicated to help girls to achieve their future in many countries such Nigeria, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, India, Turkey, Lebanon, etc. https://www.malala.org/

MALALA-FUND

She became in the youngest ever Nobel Laureate

Malala has been awarded several times with both national and international awards and honours:* Nobel Peace Price (2014). * Prize Sájarov (2013). * Prize Simone de Beauvoir (2013). * National Malala Peace Prize (2011). * International Children's Peace Prize nominee, 2011. * National Youth Peace Prize, 2011

MALALA-AWARDS

WHY I HAVE CHOSEN MALALA

I would like to highlight her courage.I have got shocked by her reaction against extremists. It is clear that youth, with their innate strength, are able to achieve what they set out to do. The most importante changes all over the world have been carry out because of the young people movements.

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OR ORDER FROM AN ISLAMIC RELIGIOUS LEADER

AN EXPRESSION OF STRONG FEELING THAT IS DIFFICULT TO CONTROL

TO HURT OR DO SOMETHING HARMFUL TO SOMEONE BECAUSE THEY HAVE DONE OR SAID SOMETHING HARMFUL TO YOU

THE STATE OF BEING SEEN OR WELL KNOWN

A LANGUAGE SPOKEN IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN

THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF PAKISTAN, ALSO SPOKEN BY MANY PEOPLE IN INDIA

PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR AN IDEA, PLAN OR WAY OF DOING SOMETHING

AFFLICTED - GREAT SADNESS

RETALIATION

https://www.malala.org/

https://www.bbc.com/news/topics/cnrxxl5dd93t/malala-yousafzai

https://www.youtube.com/watch

https://twitter.com/Malala/status/1273775945917378562/photo/1

https://edition.cnn.com/2020/06/19/world/malala-completes-oxford-studies-scli-intl-gbr/index.html

http://media.gettyimages.com/

https://www.ebay.es/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313&_nkw=malala&_sacat=0

https://edition.cnn.com/2013/07/12/world/united-nations-malala/index.html

https://www.bing.com/images/search?

https://www.factinate.com/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malala_Yousafza

PHOTOGRAPHY / WEBLIOGRAPHY

Every 12 July is a UN observance called Malala Day

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In London, The National Portrait Gallery Brought Back Its Annual Gala

By Maia Torres

At London’s National Portrait Gallery, gallery director Nicholas Cullinan, along with co-chairs Edward Enninful OBE and Malala Yousafzai, hosted its annual Portrait Gala with an affair packed with a constellation of luminaries across the worlds of art, fashion, and philanthropy—celebrating the gala’s grand return since the Gallery’s reopening in the summer of 2023.

After attendees settled into their seats, dinner service commenced. While conversations bounced between the portrait-adorned walls of the Gallery, a silent auction took place, offering guests the chance to bid on a few fashionable treasures (including a private tour of Coco Chanel’s apartment on Rue Cambon, front row seats to the Erdem Spring/Summer presentation, and so much more). All funds raised from the Portrait Gala are dedicated to supporting several of the Gallery’s vital works, fostering accessibility, education, and innovation within the arts community.

As the evening transitioned into the after-party, which was sponsored by none other than skincare stalwart Augustinus Bader (who also hosted two tables that evening) and led by CEO Charles Rosier together with Sophie Goodwin, the festivities continued unabated. DJ sets courtesy of Hale Zero and a captivating performance by Courtney Love brought guests, including Tracey Emin, Alexa Chung, Bella Freud, Princess Olympia of Greece, and more onto the dance floor up until the stroke of midnight.

Guests didn’t leave the Gallery empty-handed; luxury tokens from Augustinus Bader’s cult-favorite products, such as the brand’s eye patches and Rich Cream, were handed to each attendee. Of course, Cullinan, on the cusp of his investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace, bid each guest a gracious farewell as the night came to a close.

Alexa Chung

Courtney Love

Princess Maria-Olympia of Greece and Denmark