Framing the Future of Universal Education:

Malala Yousafzai

Abstract:
Malala Yousafzais speech in July of 2013 at the United Nations General Assembly was
incredibly inspirational, especially in light of all that she had faced in the nine months prior to
that day. Yousafzai uses specific techniques such as temporality to frame the Taliban and their
beliefs in comparison to the way she envisions the future for Pakistan and for girls like herself
around the world. This speech is significant because it sparked a worldwide response and raised
awareness towards the issue of the right to access to education, especially for girls. The purpose
of this criticism is to examine the way that she frames her experiences with the Taliban in
Pakistan and how she envisions the future for her beloved nation and girls like her around the
world.

On the afternoon of October 9, 2012, in the Swat valley of Pakistan, a group of Taliban
men stopped a school bus full of girls. One man climbed aboard the bus: "Which one of you is
Malala? Speak up, otherwise I will shoot you all. Once he identified her, the masked Talib
swiftly lifted his gun and shot the barely fifteen-year-old girl in the head. The bullet went
through her head and neck, eventually settling in her shoulder. Medics rushed Yousafzai to the
hospital in Peshawar, where physicians performed extensive surgery to stop her brain from
swelling. Over the course of the next several months, she underwent a variety of surgeries both
in Pakistan as well as the United Kingdom to regain her hearing and regular brain function.
Nearly nine months to the day after she was shot by the Taliban, Malala Yousafzai stood
in front of the United Nations General Assembly and over five hundred young education
advocates from around the world and delivered a speech in which she both recounted her
experiences and began her campaign for equal rights to education for every child around the
world. This appearance was the first time she had spoken publicly since the assassination
attempt, and the world was inspired by her perseverance and dedication to the cause that almost
ended her life. In order to fully understand the subtleties of Yousafzais speech to the UN, one
must have a working knowledge of the history of Pakistan, the context of her speech, and other
forms of human rights, nonviolent, and Islamic womens rhetoric.
Throughout her speech, Yousafzai juxtaposes the bleak and oppressive conditions in
Pakistan, both in the past and present, to the way she envisions the future, with educational
opportunities for every child around the world. She also provides a temporal frame through
which she presents herself, Islam, and the future of Pakistan in stark contrast to the Taliban and
their current tyrannical reign in her home country. The purpose of this criticism is to examine

how Yousafzai frames the Taliban and their beliefs in comparison to the way she envisions the
future for her beloved Pakistan, as well as for girls like herself around the world.
Before delving into Yousafzais speech that summer day in the UN, it is important to
examine the historical background of Pakistan and how that influenced and inspired Yousafzai to
action. Pakistan has had a long history with military regimes, and the Taliban is just the latest in
a long line of tyrannical leadership. The Taliban have been present in Pakistan for several years,
but has been felt most strongly since the group was pushed out of Afghanistan after the
September 11, 2011 attacks on the United States; at this time, many of their fellow Pashtuns in
Pakistan welcomed them into their country. Since the Taliban seems to have taken up primary
residency here, Newsweek declares that no other country on earth is arguably more dangerous
than Pakistan (Moreau). And for no one is this new state more treacherous than the women and
girls who now live in terror in the shadow of the group of bearded men who patrol the streets,
looking for reasons to punish them.
The Taliban is arguably most well known for their oppressive treatment of women, and
those policies have since taken hold in Pakistan. In his book, Taliban, Ahmed Rashid discusses
the plight of women and children, specifically, under the tyrannical thumb of the Taliban.
Rashid writes,
The Taliban just want to trample women into the dust. No woman, not even the
poorest or most conservative wants the Taliban to rule Afghanistan. Islam says
women are equal to men and respect should be given to women. But the Taliban's
actions are turning people against even Islam (110).
Though Rashid is writing from Afghanistan, the plight of women at the hands of the Taliban is
equivalent in Pakistan. Regardless of her own political ideologies or social class, no woman

wants the Taliban to rule in Pakistan because their policies are simply too restrictive to be
beneficial. According to Rashid, the culture and internal political dynamic of the Taliban is a
main reason for the way the men in the organization treat women. He explains that most of the
Taliban recruits are orphans and refugees who have been brought up in a completely male
society. They are adopted into the Taliban at such a young age that they never experienced the
influence of a woman (like a mother) in their lives. They never learn to appreciate the role of a
woman, and know only the harsh laws and restrictions the Taliban imposes. Rashid writes that
in the madrassa milieu, control over women and their virtual exclusion was a powerful symbol
of manhood and reaffirmation of the students commitment to jihad (111). This generation of
men who are now in leadership in the Taliban were once boys who never had mothers and who
grew up in a war culture, completely segregated from the rest of their community. These are the
reasons which are most often cited for the Talibans seemingly unreasonable restrictions on
women in the Middle East.
Even before the arrival of the Taliban, Pakistans educational statistics were dismal in
comparison to most of the other countries in the world, even other under-developed nations.
Illiteracy in Pakistan was ninety percent for girls and sixty percent for boys before the Taliban,
but their gender discriminatory policies made this inequality even greater (Rashid 111). The
Taliban has never valued education, and when combined with their complete disrespect towards
women and girls, the results have the capability to be catastrophic.
Despite the difficulties it presented, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malalas father, strongly
believed his daughter should get the best education possible. He recognized how intelligent she
was, and that she loved learning and attending school more than anything else. Ziauddin
Yousafzai ran a school, and so she was able to attend his school with her familys full support

(Yousafzai and Lamb). And though the family recognized that the danger of attending school
was increasing for Yousafzai, they still deemed her attendance most important. And Yousafzai
agreed she refused to forfeit her access to education. Not only was Yousafzai still attending
school when most girls were not, but she was also an outspoken advocate for girls access to
education, even at a very young age. In 2009, at the age of eleven, she was writing in an
anonymous blog for the BBC which described life under Taliban rule for a girl. It was written in
the style of a diary, and she discussed at length her fears that her school would be shut down like
so many others (Diary of a Pakistani Girl). Her perseverance in continuing her education, as
well as her outspoken opinions on access to education for everyone are what provoked the
Talibans attempt at silencing her bold voice.
There are many kinds of rhetoric which are present in Yousafzais speech to the UN,
most prominent of which is her human rights discourse. According to Chandler in From Kosovo
to Kabul and Beyond, the discourse of human rights inaugurates a new kind of citizenship, the
citizenship of humanity (Chandler 4), which is one of the main aspects and goals of the United
Nations. According to the book, Human Rights Rhetoric: Traditions of Testifying and
Witnessing, rhetoric is uniquely positioned to offer particular insights into the language of
human rights declarations, covenants, and the symbolic action of human rights claims, laws,
norms, aspirations, and deliberations (Lyon and Olson 2). The emotional appeal (pathos) of all
the many human rights causes could not be conveyed without the expressive power of rhetoric,
and Yousafzai, like many other human rights rhetoricians, capitalizes upon this specific
influential aspect of rhetoric well in this speech.
The United Nations published The Universal Declaration of Human Rights on
December 10, 1948, after the end of World War II. After the atrocities of World War II, the

international community decided that it would create a document which would guarantee the
rights of people across the globe. This text contains thirty articles, each of which details the
various rights which an individual is entitled to. Article 26 is focused on the right to education,
and these ideals are reflected in Yousafzais speech and the belief that everyone deserves equal
access to education. There are three parts to Article 26, each of which is significantly included
in Yousafzais speech and her beliefs regarding education:
1. Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the
elementary and fundamental stages. Elementary education shall be
compulsory. Technical and professional education shall be made
generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all
on the basis of merit.
2. Education shall be directed to the full development of the human
personality and to the strengthening of respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and
friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further
the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace.
3. Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be
given to their children. ("The Universal Declaration of Human Rights")
Yousafzais UN Speech on July 12, 2013 reflects these three ideal stipulations regarding
universal education, and it is an important part of why she was chosen to speak to the General
Assembly. Her ideals are so closely tied to those of the United Nations that she becomes the
perfect spokesperson for universal education, implementing various elements from the category
of human rights discourse.
Yousafzais speech also represents an example of nonviolent discourse because of her
many assertions that nonviolence, peace, and love are the best way to handle the issue at hand.
She cites leaders such as Mohammad, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, and Mohammed Ali
Jinnah for teaching her compassion, and Gandhi, Bacha Kahn, and Mother Teresa for her
philosophy of nonviolence. All of these people are pioneers and icons in their field, well-known
for their nonviolent and peacemaking human rights rhetoric. Each of these leaders fights for the

rights of the people they represent, and after this speech given to the UN Assembly on July 12,
2013, Yousafzai has taken one step closer to joining their ranks as a global human rights speaker
and activist.
Women in Islamic societies have a rhetoric all their own that sets them apart from other
feminist discourses. Overall, Islamic rhetoric always refers back to the Quran, and the feminist
rhetoric is no exception. One of the main aspects of feminist Islamic discourse is that it argues
that the Quran affirms the principle of equality of all human beings, and that the practice of
equality between women and men (and other categories of people) has been impeded or
subverted by patriarchal ideas (ideology) and practices (Badran 247). Yousafzai repeatedly
emphasizes the equality with which men and women should be treated, and she also highlights
the ignorance of the Taliban who say the Quran favors men to women. These are characteristics
that are nearly always found in the rhetoric of Islamic women.
Likely the most important part of studying this text and providing meaningful criticism is
understanding the context from which Yousafzais speech stems. Not only is being
knowledgeable about the background of the Taliban in Pakistan and about Yousafzais life
before the attack both imperative to a full comprehension and appreciation of her speech to the
UN, but also the circumstances under which she was presenting that day. Yousafzai is extremely
courageous to speak to the UN on that July day the Taliban shot her in the first place to silence
her efforts to advocate for the education of women, and for speaking out against them. For her to
stand in front of a such a large group of people and give a speech which was then broadcast
around the world and all over the internet was an inspiring display of courage for the world to
see. Without recognizing the extreme circumstances under which her speech was given and her

life has been lived, performing an in-depth analysis on the messages present in her speech would
be impossible.
Yousafzai begins her speech with a nod to the traditions and culture of her beloved
Pakistan. After addressing the three top leaders present (UN Secretary General, president of the
General Assembly, and the UN envoy for global education), as well as her respected elders and
dear brothers and sisters, she greets her captive audience with a traditional Islamic greeting
Assalamu alaikum. This means peace be with you, and is commonly used as a greeting
between people. Interestingly, in Pakistan it is also considered impolite and uneducated to use
the shortened version of Salam instead of the entire phrase. Yousafzai then continues to
acknowledge the honor of the invitation and ability to present to the UN General Assembly that
day, and the special honor she has of wearing the shawl of Benazir Bhutto. This is an especially
important, though seemingly very small piece to note. Benazir Bhutto was the first female leader
of any Muslim nation, serving as prime minister of Pakistan for two terms in the late 1980s and
mid 90s (Benazir Bhutto). The fact that Yousafzai was able to wear the shawl of such a
powerful woman in both Pakistan and Islamic history is a huge honor, one that she certainly
recognized, and felt the emotional enormity of. The election of a female leader in Pakistan was
huge news, and a massive step forward for all women-kind. It represented the beginning of
hope for women in this Muslim nation. She was a tough politician, one who did not embody the
submissive norm for women in the Muslim tradition and who held her ground against those who
doubted her leadership abilities, earning the nickname Iron Lady for herself. She was also a
very democratic leader, and attempted to implement many policies which were controversial due
to their more Western tendencies. She is a symbol of female empowerment and because of her
far-reaching impact, women are still allowed to participate in Pakistani politics. Though Bhutto

was a controversial politician, she was still the first woman to be the leader of any Muslim nation
and remains highly respected among her supporters and rivals alike. Bhutto was also well
known for her works in the sphere of human rights, and was awarded for her efforts several
times, including when she was given the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights.
Yousafzais simple gesture of wearing Bhuttos shawl during her speech and acknowledging that
she was wearing it during her speech holds a lot of rhetorical weight. The symbolism of the
shawl of this great Pakistani female leader transfers some of that renown onto Malala, and
immediately earns her some respect from fellow Pakistanis who know of Bhuttos impact on the
nation.
Yousafzais acknowledgement of each of her elders, as well as all the people who helped
her along in her physical recovery and also in regaining her voice to fight for universal
education, is an important part of her speech which reflects the traditional principles and aspects
of Islamic culture. She then explains that though this day has been named Malala Day in her
honor, it is not her day: Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have
raised their voice for their rights (Yousafzai). Yousafzai emphasizes the massive number of
people who have been speaking out for their rights, just as she has done, but also the ones whose
voices do not have the amplifying power that hers has found. Yousafzai wants to make a
difference in the lives of children like her around the world children who want to go to school
and are hungry to learn, but are not able to. She wants to empower women and children, boys
and girls alike, to be able to get an education and create a life for themselves. She says, I am
just one of themone girl among many. I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can
be heard (Yousafzai).

Throughout this speech, and especially at the beginning, the audience is presented again
and again with the injustice and struggle that has existed for people around the world like
Yousafzai, people fighting for their own rights as well as the people fighting for those who
cannot fight for themselves. She describes the tyranny these people are suffering under, and
explains that she is not just speaking out for herself but for everyone who cannot fight for their
own rights in the way she has been able to. Her identification as one of many allows her
audience to imagine and personify the hundreds and thousands of other people for whom she is
speaking.
Understanding Taliban rule and its history in Pakistan is important in order to understand
Yousafzais description of her own struggles and her allusion to others in similar situations
around the world. Knowing what the Taliban stands for and the methods by which they attempt
to accomplish their goals can be complicated, and few foreigners actually understand the group
and their ways. Yousafzai depicts the Taliban as an extremely powerful and violent group with
even stronger allies, and those like the Yousafzais who are even rumored to be speaking
against the Taliban are swiftly handled so they no longer pose a threat. Malala Yousafzai, a
young fifteen-year-old girl, was still attending school in spite of the Taliban rules against
education for girls, and this made her the target of their attack on that fateful day.
Yousafzai proceeds to provide a brief summary of what happened when the Taliban
attacked her on her way home from school on October 9, 2012. She says, 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 out of the silence came thousands of voices (Yousafzai). This
is the pivot point of Yousafzais speech this is the moment in her life when everything
changed, which brought her struggle for universal education and bold voice to the forefront of a

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global conversation, and she uses that moment in her speech to change the focus there, as well.
This is where we see her speech shift gears from the wrongs done to her and so many other
people around the world, to the bright future which could be ahead if everyone takes a stand
against the injustices she discusses. Yousafzai further proves that the Taliban can never take her
goals away from her or silence her when she says,
The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my 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. And my dreams are the same (Yousafzai).
This part of her speech just continues to emphasize how strongly she believes in the
cause of universal education, and how courageous she is. This part adds to her pivotal
moment because she is demonstrating that even though seemingly everything has
changed in her life, nothing has changed in her mind but she is clearly ready to make
big changes, and it is time the rest of the world caught up to her.
Yousafzai makes it very clear that she has no personal vendetta against the Taliban
even though a Talib did shoot her in an attempt to silence and kill her, but she says that even if
there was a gun in my hand and he was standing in front of me, I would not shoot him
(Yousafzai). In advocating for universal education, Yousafzai repeats that she is at the UN to
speak for the right of education for every child for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and
all the terrorists and extremists (Yousafzai). Though she was an inch from death at the hands of
the Taliban, Yousafzai sees no reason to discriminate against other when it comes to the right to
education, even towards those who tried to kill her. Her impressive message of peace against her
own attackers instantly catches the attention of her audience, compelling them to listen and try to
understand the perspective of this young girl who is imploring them to break the cycle of
violence. Yousafzai references those non-violent men and women (Gandhi, Mother Teresa, and

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Martin Luther King, to reiterate a few), and says she has inherited this legacy of change from
them. Yousafzai associates herself with these high profile peace-making, world-changing
individuals in order to elevate her own critical message to a new height of human rights
discourse. Through aligning her message with those of such famous rhetoricians and leaders,
Yousafzai gives hers new life and an superior sense of purpose and importance.
At this point in the speech, Yousafzai begins discussing the importance of education, and
the implications that universal education could have on future generations and the world as a
whole. In what can be considered the most moving and significant part of the speech, Yousafzai
says to the crowd of people before her:
Dear sisters and brothers, we realize the importance of light when we see
darkness. We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the
same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realized the
importance of pens and books when saw the gunsThe 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 (Yousafzai).
After having experienced most of her life living under the thumb of the Taliban, watching the
violence swirl around her everyday, Yousafzai could understand what an education meant in her
country. Education in Pakistan means a way out, an escape; the power to make a difference; the
ability to support oneself without a spouse; to be able to raise a family well and safely. There are
endless repercussions from a lack of education, and that is especially true for girls. For many
women, especially in the Middle East and other underdeveloped nations, without an education,
she cannot support herself and must rely solely on a man to provide for her. Research shows
time and time again the widespread effects women can have once they are empowered and
educated. The statistics are incredible A child born to a literate mother is fifty percent more
likely to survive past the age of five; some 171 million people could be lifted out of poverty if all
students in low-income countries acquired basic reading skills; children with educated mothers

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are twice as likely to go to school (Girl's Education). These numbers are truly staggering, and
it quickly becomes clear that encouraging every young person to become educated can not only
make a huge difference in their own life, but also in the entire worldwide economy. When
Yousafzai describes the difference that education can make in the life of a girl in the Swat valley
of Pakistan, her audience becomes aware of not only the numbers of the impact that education
can make, but the importance in the everyday life of the average girl. Yousafzais experiences
reinforce just how meaningful education can be in a persons life going to school is an
experience many people in more Western, developed countries can forget is far more of a
privilege than a right. It saturates a life with meaning and purpose, providing girls like Malala
Yousafzai a way out of the oppressive life of a small village in Pakistan and giving her a bright
future full of possibility. If there is one thing that can change the trajectory of a nation,
especially one with as much turmoil as those in the Middle East, it is most certainly education for
all of the children.
Yousafzai explains that the Taliban are afraid of education and the power it can provide a
person. She also describes in her speech a time when a journalist asked a boy in her class why
the Taliban were so strongly against education. And he replied by saying A Talib doesnt know
what is written inside this book (Yousafzai). This line in and of itself is so central to
Yousafzais point the Taliban are terrified of education because they themselves do not have
much of it. They fear the people they control knowing more than they do, so the Taliban place
excessive roadblocks in front of any person trying to attain an education.
Most people assume that the Taliban limits access to education and treats women the way
they do because of their Islamic beliefs; after all, religion is the way the Taliban justify their own
actions to the rest of the world. However, Yousafzai argues against the way the Taliban present

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Islam she says that the terrorists are misusing the name of Islam for their own personal
benefit (Yousafzai) and that the actions of the Taliban are not what most people actually want
for themselves and their countrymen. Yousafzai describes Islam as peace-loving religion, one
which values nonviolence and love for others above most everything else. She says the Taliban
twist this loving religion into something demonic that does not reflect its true beliefs. This is an
important argument to make because if the only thing holding up Taliban policies (religion) is
struck out from under them, they will have no support system left to hold up inane laws and
practices which prevent children from going to school.
Yousafzai qualifies that while poverty and deprivation are problems faced around the
world, by both genders, she is choosing to fight for the rights of women and girls because she
believes girls are suffering from these inequalities more than any other singular group of people.
For example, the book Women and Literacy explains the inequities in literacy in developing
nations in greater depth:
According to UNESCO's World Education Report 2000, nearly two-thirds of the
world's illiterate adults were women. Forty to fifty percent of women in the least
developed countries are illiterate. The literacy gap exists mostly because of
inequities in schooling: about 100 million children are out of school, and 60% of
them are girls. As for adults, 559 million adult females are illiterate, while 316
adult males are illiterate. Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan have nearly half the
world's illiterate adults, while they had only a third two decades ago (Hobbs 227).
These statistics demonstrate that while both men and women are struggling with problems such
as illiteracy, women are bearing the brunt of this burden, particularly in developing nations. This
is due in part to extremist ruling groups like the Taliban, but it is also a problem because of the
cost of schooling, the traditional female and male roles and forced child marriages, among many
other issues of similar note in these societies. Yousafzai says that there was a time when
women activists asked men to stand up for their rights. But this time we will do it ourselves

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(Yousafzai). She does not want men to stop campaigning for the rights of women, but she wants
to empower women and give them the opportunity to stand up and fight for themselves without
relying on anyone else. Yousafzai calls upon leaders from around the world to push for peace
and prosperity, but to make sure that the rights of women and children do not fall through the
cracks while they do so.
Finally, the last piece of Yousafzais speech is a message meant to inspire people to
action people listening to this speech should feel impassioned and ready to be unleashed on the
world, campaigning for the education. She paints a picture of the world in which everyone
speaks up for the rights of those who do not have a voice, where people are empowered to fight
for their rights, and education is provided for all. She is empowering her audience through the
intense power and idealism behind her words to begin to wage this war for universal education.
She concludes her speech in an intensely motivating manner: So let us wage a glorious struggle
against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism. Let us pick up our books and our pens, they are the
most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world
(Yousafzai). This powerful conclusion works to motivate her audience to realize the importance
of education, and the impact that just one person can make on the world.
There are two major perspectives to Yousafzais speech: what the past and present have
looked like, versus what the future could be. In the way that Yousafzai frames the speech, the
past contains the violent, erratic, close-minded ways of the Taliban suppressing the rights of
the Pakistanis so that no person could challenge their leaders. The future that Yousafzai creates
within her speech is one that is so much brighter than the one that exists in present day Pakistan
that it is impossible not to crave it and want to work towards it. Her main goal is to encourage
world leaders to implement universal education policies, and she uses the imagery of this Her

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idealistic outlook, motivating words, and personal experience all create an ethos within her
speech, establishing her credibility to the audience and creating an collective image for the entire
audience to share in and experience together.
A discussion of the impact of temporality on a speech can be read in Michael Leffs
article, Dimensions of Temporality in Lincolns Second Inaugural. Leff argues that in the
third paragraph of his speech, Lincoln switches from discussing the past to a use of the present
and his perspective begins to change from the secular to the sacred (Leff 28). Yousafzai
makes a similar temporal move in her speech, from past to present, but instead of moving from
secular to sacred, Yousafzai evidences a different moment of transformation. In her fifth
paragraph, she discusses the attack on her that day the previous October, in the past tense. After
describing events in the past tense, she switches to the present tense at what I have called the
pivot point of her speech; Yousafzai proceeds from her description and says, out of that silence
came thousands of voices.The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my
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 (Yousafzai) (my emphasis).
These sentences represent the distinct moment at which this speech hinges. [W]eakness,
fear and hopelessness are in the past tense. Strength, power and courage propel the speech
forward (Yousafzai). The change in her speech reflects the transformation that occurred in her
life at this moment: it was as if her fearful self died in the flames of the Talibs gun, and her
fearless self rose from the ashes. According to Greek mythology, the phoenix is a bird which,
after living for a few hundred years, is consumed in a fire (which it happens to create itself), and
then is reborn from the ashes of that fire. Yousafzai experienced a transformation like that of the
phoenix she was shot by the Taliban (nearly dying from fire) but surviving, and continuing to

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recover and then thrive after the attack. After the attack, Yousafzai shed the fears and struggles
that had plagued her before, and courage to stand up against her oppressors took the place of
those insecurities. This is a moment of purification. She recognizes that this metamorphosis is
incredible, and that it is what allows her to become the world leader and education advocate that
she is today.
In the midst of her transformation, Yousafzai also sheds any feelings for the necessity of
revenge against the Talibs who attacked her just as the phoenix sheds its old life, she no longer
felt as though she needed to right the wrongs done to her before. While in Leffs argument,
Lincoln moves into the sacred realm by citing the Bible, Yousafzai does not explicitly use
religion as reasoning for her argument (though she discuss Islam and her interpretation versus
that of the Taliban). I would argue that Yousafzais move is due to the new attitude she
possesses when she seems to rise above the wrongs which have been committed against her and
others like her for the betterment of society as a whole.
One of Yousafzais main messages in her speech on this day was that peace is imperative
for children around the world so they can gain access to the education they need and deserve. In
her eyes, the Taliban is one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of that access to
education, particularly in Pakistan. While she does not condone equivalent violence against the
terrorist group, Yousafzai does try to make clear the distinction between them and us in her
speech, and her use of temporality, really enforces that idea with her audience. For example,
Yousafzai says:
They think that God is a tiny, little conservative being who would point guns at
peoples heads just for going to school. These terrorists are misusing the name of
Islam for their own personal benefitWe are really tired of these wars. Women
and children are suffering in many ways in many parts of the world. (Yousafzai)
(my emphasis)

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The clear separation between the Taliban and Malala (along with those who are also
being oppressed, for whom she speaks) is made even more plain because of her temporal framing
throughout this speech. Yousafzais unearthly compassion for her enemy and lack of drive for
revenge, both of which she claims comes from her Islamic beliefs, and it drives her message
home with the audience.
There was an overwhelming response to Yousafzais speech, because between the floor
of the UN General Assembly and the massive number of schools and public gatherings that were
streaming the speech, there were innumerable people who were watching Yousafzais address
live. And that does not even consider the countless number of people who have since streamed it
online searching for Malala Yousafzai on the Internet pulls up several links to the speech
itself, both in text version and video, so it is incredibly easy to access. The speech was streamed
in the Southbank Centre in London, and groups of students were moved by the way Yousafzai
presented herself and her ideas. A thirteen-year-old girl (not much younger than Yousafzai
herself) named Arlina Hysenaj told the press that She is just my idol, I look up to her so much.
It's like she doesn't even know what revenge is, she just believes right can win (Topping). Her
peaceful presence in spite of the turmoil she experienced in the last year was incredible to many
students like Arlina they were shocked by her ability to remain so nonviolent and peaceful after
everything that had happened to her in the last year. Yousafzai was awarded for several awards
in the nearly two years that have passed after the Taliban attack on her, but most have been
presented in the time since this speech in July 2013. She was nominated as one of the TIME
100 for 2013 and 2014 (Clinton) (Women of the 2014), even gracing the cover of the wellknown magazine. And more recently, Yousafzai was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize
alongside Kailash Satyarthi, for their struggle against the suppression of children and young

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people and for the right of all children to education ("Malala Yousafzai - Facts"), and is the
youngest person to ever win this esteemed award. Not only that, but she is ranked the second
most popular Nobel Peace Prize Laureate ever, falling only behind Martin Luther King Jr.
(2014 Nobel Peace Prize). She has been deemed the worlds newest symbol of hope by
several sources, and its hard to see her as anything else after her tireless crusade for universal
education.
Unfortunately, while most of the western world is handing Yousafzai one award after
another and the press cannot stop singing her praises, not everyone feels the same way. At home
in Pakistan, the reaction [to her speech] was depressingly mixed (Waraich), and while the rest
of the world was celebrating Malala Day, the government of her birth country did not even mark
the occasion. Her supporters at home were ecstatic, watching her so openly defy the Taliban,
and were impressed by her peaceful message. But most of the nations television channels did
not air her speech live, and there were many people who called her a drama or a hoax. There
was great sympathy for her nine months before, when she was shot, but according to TIME
magazine, most of that has died down, leaving mostly cynicism and widespread conspiracy
theories (Waraich). Of course, the Taliban is not happy about the condemnation they are
receiving from the outspoken teenager who survived their attack, and they continue to threaten
Yousafzai. She is now living in Birmingham, England, staying far from her beloved Pakistan,
much to her dismay.
Overall, the response to Yousafzais address to the UN General Assembly in July 2013
was overwhelming positive, and part of the reason this speech was so significant. After
Yousafzai encouraged the men and women present at her speech (and everyone else watching
from remote locations) to advocated for universal education, 2.2 million people signed her

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petition (Women of the 2014). Yousafzais momentum in her crusade for education has only
grown since that day, and she is still strong in her campaign. Malala Yousafzai and her father
have created the Malala Fund in order to support organizations which empower and educate
girls, and has been a big part of resolving the abduction of Nigerian school girls and various
girls education summits and leadership programs. With the awareness raised from her speech to
the UN, she has been able to make a huge impact one that has been much larger than if she had
stayed quiet after the attack.
Yousafzais speech to the UN was significant not only because of the overwhelming
response, but also because of the overall awareness she has brought to the issue of education,
especially that of girls around the world. Throughout her speech, the clear juxtaposition between
the Taliban and their beliefs, in comparison to her vision of the future for both Pakistan and the
rest of the world, served as a clear beacon of hope for what was to come, and to demonstrate the
impressive need that the world has for education. Without the distinct disparity between the
oppression of the Taliban and the bright, clear future of girls around the world, her speech would
have been significantly less powerful and would have made much less of an impact in changing
educational policies globally. In light of all of her impressive accomplishments in advocating for
girls education around the world, Malala Yousafzai has not forgotten about her own educational
journey she learned she had won the Nobel Peace Prize after being called out of her
Birmingham tenth grade chemistry class and celebrated by returning to class to continue
studying for her exams.

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