The Daily Show: Extended Interview: Malala Yousafzai

In this exclusive, unedited interview, "I Am Malala" author Malala Yousafzai remembers the Taliban's rise to power in her Pakistani hometown and discusses her efforts to campaign for equal access to education for girls. Malala Yousafzai also offers suggestions for people looking to help out overseas and stresses the importance of education.

Audience Cheering

Jon Stewart: Welcome back! My guest tonight- she's an advocate for girls' access to education worldwide,

is the youngest person ever to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, her new book is called,

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

Please welcome to the program Malala Yousafzai.

Audience Cheering Loudly

Triumphant Music

Audience Continues Cheering

J: Nice to see you.

Audience Continues Cheering Loudly, One Audience Member Yells

J: Thank you for being here.

M: Thank you so much. It's an honor for me.

J: Uh, it is an honor for us. I know me.

Audience and Malala Laugh Quietly

J: This is-- by the way, I- we talked a little bit before the show.

Nothing feels better than making you laugh, I will say that.

M: (laughing quietly) Thank you.

J: I will say that I enjoyed that very much.

J: I am Malala it, it-it it's honestly humbling to meet you.

You are 16, where did your love for education come from?

M: Um, we are human beings, and this is the part of our, of our human nature-

that we don't learn the importance of anything until it's snatched from our hands.

And when- in Pakistan, when we were stopped from going to school, at that time, I realized that education is

very important. And education is the power for women. And that's why the terrorists are afraid of education.

They do not want women to get education, because then women would become more powerful.

Audience Cheering/Applauding

J: That's exactly- that's exactly right.

When did the- when the Taliban come to Swat Valley?

Because, before then, you describe it as a- a paradise, of sorts.

M: A Taliban came in 2004, but at that time they were quite good.

They did not show their, they're the terrorism. And they did not blast any school at that time.

But they started the real terrorism in 2007. They have blasted more than 400 schools in Swat.

They have slaughtered people.

And in the month of January, 2009, they- they used to slaugher even two, three people every night.

And they have flogged women. We have seen the barbaric situation of the 21st century,

and we have seen like the, the-the cruelty and we have seen harsh days in our life,

and those will be regarded as the darkest days of our life.

So, it was- it was really hard of us at that time.

J: You describe in the book, still, no matter what, they- they took the signs off of schools, they, uh-

they went underground; but they continued in the face of- you spoke out publicly against the Taliban-

What gave you the courage to continue this?

M: You know- my father was a great encouragement for me, because he spoke out-

uh, he spoke out for women's rights, he spoke out for girls' education. And at that time, I said that,

"Why shall I wait for someone else?

Why shall I be looking to the government, to the army, that they would help us?

Why don't I raise my voice? Why don't we speak up for our rights?"

The girls of Swat, they spoke up for their rights.

I started writing diary. I spoke on every media channel that I could.

And I raised my voice on every platform that I could.

And I said, I need to tell the world what is happening in Swat.

And I need to tell the world that Swat is suffering from terrorism, and we need to fight against terrorism.

J: When did you realize the Taliban had made you a target?

M: Um- when uh, in 2012, um, we were- I was with my father and someone came and she told us that-

"Have you seen, on uh, google net, if you research your name, and uh, the Taliban have threatened you?"

And, I just could not believe it, I said, "No, it's not true." And even after the threat, when we saw it,

I was not worried about myself that much, I was worried about my father.

Because we thought that the Taliban are not that much cruel that they will kill a child,

because I was 14 at that time.

But then later on, I-I used to like started, I, I started thinking about that and I used to think- think that the

Talib would come and he would just kill me. But then I said, "If he comes, what would you do, Malala?"

Um- then I would reply myself that, "Malala, just take a shoe and hit him." But then I said-

Audience Laughing Lightly

M: But then I said, "If you hit a Talib with your shoe, then there would be no difference you and the Talib.

You must not treat others, that much with cruelty, and that much harshly.

You must fight others, but through peace, and through dialogue, and through education."

Then I said, I'll tell him how important education is, and that, "I even want education for your children as well."

And I will tell him, "That's what I want to tell you, now do what you want."

Audience Cheering and Whistling Loudly

J: Let me ask you- you know, I know your father is- is backstage. And he's very proud of you, but

would he be mad, if I adopted you?

Audience and Malala Laugh

J: Because, you sure are swell.

Audience Laughing Lightly

J: Um, could you stick around?

I want to talk a little bit more about, sort of, Swat Valley, and- and what it was like growing up there,

and- and how people can get involved through the Malala fund and- and those types of things.

Do you have a-a little bit of time uh -to stick around?

M: Yeah, yeah. Sure.

J: That would be wonderful, thank you so much.

J: I Am Malala is on the bookshelves now.

Audience Cheering Loudly

Donate to the Malala fund, visit: www.malalafund.org

Malala Yousafzai

We'll be right back.

Triumphant Music

Audience Cheering

Audience Cheering

J: Wonderful to listen to you talk.

Uh, we are back, we are talking to Malala. The book, I am Malala is on shelves right now.

Your love of school reminds me so much of my children.

Audience and Malala Laughing

J: Okay, maybe not.

Audience Laughing Lightly

Uh, the people of Swat Valley- when the Talib first came, they thought-

"They're bringing order. They're bringing services."

They established a court that was faster than uh- Pakistani courts.

M: (Quietly) Yeah

J: And the people responded.

When did that being to turn?

M: When the Taliban came they were trying to convince people, and they were just misusing the name of Islam,

and they were telling people uh, "We will just set up another court for you.

and we will provide you justice on time." Because usually in courts in Pakistan, people dies and their

case is not yet resolved in the- in the, in the courts. So that's what is happening in the courts of Pakistan.

So people just said like, "If the Taliban are doing it, why don't we support them?"

But- then they were that much cruel when their- they started slaughtering people.

And they even blasted a, uh-a generator of electricity.

And it was the month of Ramadan, in which we keep fast,

in which we don't eat on the day, in which we don't drink for the whole day.

They blasted the electricity generators which was providing electricity to the whole city of Mingora.

And we could not have water because it is- electricity is related to water supply as well.

And people were sitting in the dark, people could not buy electricity generators,

people were just sitting in the light of candles, and people were just dying of thirst at that time.

But my father is a great father, because he bought generator for the school to- to create electricity,

and to uh, um, and to provide water to the- the uh, street and to that community.

But still, many people were- were suffering from that hard situation.

And other that, our freedom was taken from us.

J: Yes.

M: The women's freedom- we could not go to market. We were not allowed to go to school.

We were just kept imprisoned. We were just limited to the four walls of our house.

Women's ri- women's rights were denied at that time. And that's why I spoke.

Because I believe in equality. And I believe there is no difference between a man and a woman.

I even believe that a woman is more powerful than men.

J: What-wait, whoa, wait, what?

Audience Cheering/Whistling

J: What? I-wait!

Audience Continues Cheering & Malala Laughs

J: You know-

Audience Continues Applauding

J: Malala, this was going so well-

Audience & Malala Laugh

J: You were doing so beautifully...and then suddenly, BAM!

Audience & Malala Laugh

J: It's-- this is the part that they, they uh- began to say, "You cannot dance."

M: (somberly) Yeah.

You cannot- uh- the women cannot do these things.

Uh-You, you say that, that many people believe uh- this is a- a wrong interpretation of Islam, Uh-of, of the Qur'an.

Do you- Why have the Taliban and these more extreme groups been able to be successful?

Is it the fear that they bring uh- to these towns?

Do they i-is that why the people have had a hard time throwing it off?

M: The first thing is that they were really cruel, they had "clashin coves," they had guns in their hand.

And If I had a gun in my hand and I tell you something, "Do this." You have to do that!

Because it's, it's for your life.

So there was fear- all around. That's why our people could not say anything.

And then the second thing was that they were misusing the name of Islam.

They were telling people that, "We are doing this for Islam. We are doing this for Allah.

We are doing this for prophet. Peace be upon Him."

So- as well as- they were using religion for their own personal benefit. So that's also- they- the reason.

But then, later on, people tried to realize this. And the girls, are very brave.

And girls in our school-like we were, at that time we were just 11 or 12 years old.

But we spoke up for our rights to every media channel, to every newspaper that we could.

And we did not know at that time that our small interview would have an impact or not, but it had,

because we were raising up our voice, and we were speaking up for our rights.

And we were speaking for peace in Swat, we wanted to live a normal life.

Because Swat is like a paradise on earth. I believe in two paradises. One-one I'll get after death,

but the other one, that is on earth, for me that is Swat, because Swat is really beautiful.

And you would be, you would be astonished when you see the lush green hills,

and when you see the tall mountain. And the- and the rivers that we have, the crystal clear water,

and you can find trout. So it's really beautiful, you would love Swat!

J: Malala, ple- I'm, I'm from New Jersey.

Malala Laughs, Audience Laughs/Cheers

J: So- I know a little something about paradise.

Audience Laughs/One Person Cheers

J: The beaches-- it does, it-it sounds magnificent.

And it's, it is heartbreaking, because you see uh, uh- what these children want and what this people want is

to just live in peace, without having this imposed on them.

M: (Somberly) Yeah.

J: And I think, we don't know what to do to help.

You know, there are passages in the book about the United States. Uh- and uh- we come out great.

One Audience Member Yells, "Yeah!" Malala Laughs

J: But there, there is, you know, there are attacks in Swat and in those areas- drones.

And, and uh, the talk about a man, a CIA uh, agent who shot two men in Lahore.

Malala: (somberly) Yeah.

J: Uh, Raymond uh-

M: (quietly) Davis.

J: Davis.

And this is, is- I think we have a common want, and desire.

But perhaps are not accomplishing it in-in the manner that, that shows the people how we- how we feel.

But in some ways, we don't know what else to do. What, what- what is- what is your thought on that?

M: Um- I think that the people of America, the United States,

uh- they truly support uh- peace, and they say that, "We must not fight against war, through war. "

They believe that dialogue is the best way. And we must try to find a solution for it!

And in my opinion, the solution that would work, to fight all these wars,

and all these problems that people are facing, is only education.

Because you can- you can stop war for a second, but you don't know- it will start again or not.

We have seen first world war, we have seen second world war, and I think third world war is coming.

But I believe that we must stop it now. I don't want to see a third world war in- in this world again.

And the best way to fight against this war is education because- as we can see,

the children are suffering from terrorism, they are suffering from child labor and child trafficking.

They're also suffering from the culture norms and traditions.

These are- there is not only one issue that we are facing through, there are many others as well.

So I think, education is the best way. People will be thinking,

"Does going to school, learning about chemistry and physics and maths, and that it?"

Going to school is not only learning about learning different subjects. It teaches you communication,

it teaches you how to live a life, it teaches you about history, it teaches you about how science is working.

And other than that, you learn about equality. Because students are provided the same benches,

they sit equally. They- it shows us equality. It teaches students, how to-how to live with others together,

how to accept each other's language, how to accept each other's traditions, and each other's religion.

It also teaches us justice, it also teaches us respect. It- it teaches us how to live together.

So that's why I support the- I support the idea of sending children to school,

because it is the best way to fight terrorism.

And I want people to support us in this cause,

and through Malala foundation we want to work for education of girls in dev- uh, in the developing countries,

especially in Syria now. They are suffering, they are homeless now.

We want to help children in Afghanistan, because they have been suffering from terrorism for decades.

We want to help the children of India as well, because they are victims of child labor.

So I think issues and problems are enormous, but solution is one, and that is simple- that is education.

Audience Applauding

J: I, uh...I, I, I am humbled, humbled to speak with you.

Uh, I will say this. I don't know where you come from.

Malala laughs

J: But I am very glad you're here. Thank you for being here today.

Audience Applauding/Cheering Loudly

J: Wonderful. Please, get the book. Donate to the Malala fund by visiting www.malalafund.org

J: Malala Yousafzai

Audience Applauding/Cheering Loudly

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