Saturday, July 13, 2013

What Malala Said: Commentary on Most Significant Statements of Malala Yousafzai to the United Nations




At Huffington Post, Nader Salass enumerates ten moving points Malala Yousafzai said yesterday in her UN speech. They include:

We realized the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns. The extremists are afraid of books and pens.

And:

[Extremists] are afraid of women, change and equality.

And: 

We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced.

As a Reuters run-down of the most significant points Malala made notes, her observation about extremists fearing women was part of this broader statement:

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."

I also love her observation about the "tiny, little conservative being" extremists fashion in order to silence women and consign women seeking equality with men to hell, as reported by Ed Pilkington in The Guardian:*

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. 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.

As I said yesterday, a young woman of exceptional humanity touched by divine fire, who sets a high mark for all of us as we struggle to be human.

*Thanks to Chris Morley for this link. 

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