Women have the same rights as men.
If a man can go to school, if a boy can go to school, why can't a girl?
[Malala Yousafzai]
[The Girls' hero Woman of the year, 2013]
If I don't go to school
then I would be obeying my brother and my father,
I would be washing clothes every day,
and then I would marry,
then I would be taking care of children,
and my life would finish.
Those people who stop us from getting education,
they are afraid of educated and powerful women.
There was a correspondent of BBC,
and he asked my father,
"I want someone from Swat who can speak to me,
and who can tell me what's happening there".
So I started blogging for BBC.
I used to talk to him on the phone every night.
We all wanted education, but so many people were silent
because they were afraid of Taliban - they were afraid of death.
But the courage defeated that fear.
That is why I spoke.
I was not waiting for someone else.
I did it by myself.
[October 9, 2012]
At 12 o'clock, I think so,
we were just sitting in our school bus,
and as I asked my driver, "Can you do the magic tricks?"
and he was just hiding a stone in his hand,
and we had to find it.
And I don't know I just opened my eyes and I was in the hospital.
I knew that I was shot,
and the first thing I did was I thanked God that I am alive.
In my country Pakistan and all over the world,
girls raised the slogan of "I am Malala."
That is their voice for education,
and they raised their voice against terrorism.
It is an honor for me
because I need more and more girls and women, and more and more boys
to support me in my campaign for education.
[In 2014, Malala won the Nobel Peace prize.]
The Taliban shot me, they thought
that the other girls who are speaking for their rights would also stop.
They thought they would spread fear, terror,
but they failed.
I believe that if you are sincere to your own heart
then you can do anything.
And I can do anything