My father was convinced the Taliban would hunt him down and kill him, but he again refused security from the police. ‘If you go around with a lot of security the Taliban will use Kalashnikovs or suicide bombers and more people will be killed,’ he said. ‘At least I’ll be killed alone.’
I don’t want awards, I want my daughter. I wouldn’t exchange a single eyelash of my daughter for the whole world.
They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed.
There are many problems, but I think there is a solution to all these problems, it’s just one and it’s education. You educate all the girls and boys. You give them the opportunity to learn.
We like to put sacred texts in flowing waters, so I rolled it up, tied it to a piece of wood, placed a dandelion on top, and floated it in the stream which flows into the Swat River. Surely God would find it there.
A city without books, a city without a library is like a graveyard.
I believe in the power of the voice of women.
I have a new dream I must be a politician to save this country. There are so many crises in our country. I want to remove these crises.
You should believe in your talent and potential. Never lose hope.
Why is it that countries which we call strong are so powerful in creating wars but are so weak in bringing peace? Why is it that giving guns is so easy, but giving books is so hard?
I am not against anyone, neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I’m here to speak up for the right of education for every child. I want education for the sons and daughters of the Taliban and all terrorists and extremists.
We should not wait for someone else to come and raise our voice. We should do it by ourselves. We should believe in ourselves. One day you will see that all the girls will be powerful; All the girls will be going to school. And it is possible only by our struggle; only when we raise our voice.
Do not wait for me to do something for your rights. It’s your world and you can change it.
If people volunteered in the same way to construct schools or roads or even clear the river of plastic wrappers, by God, Pakistan would become a paradise within a year.
My father always says that heroism is in the Pashtun DNA.
And also I didn’t want my future to be just sitting in a room and be imprisoned in my four walls and just cooking and giving birth to children. I didn’t want to see my life in that way.
I’m still me, Malala. The important thing is God has given me my life.
The Taliban could take our pens and books, but they couldn’t stop our minds from thinking.
Peace in every home, every street, every village, every country – this is my dream. Education for every boy and every girl in the world. To sit down on a chair and read my books with all my friends at school is my right. To see each and every human being with a smile of happiness is my wish.
If a woman can go to the beach and wear nothing, then why can’t she also wear everything?