Malala's Bravery: "Taliban will not silence me"

Aimee Herd : Jul 12, 2013
Sky News

"This frail young girl who was seriously injured has become such a powerful symbol not just for the girls' right to education, but for the demand that we do something about it immediately." –UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown.

(New York, NY)—Marking her 16th birthday, Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teen who was shot by members of the Taliban last year and survived, addressed the United Nations on Friday.

She told a UN Youth Assembly, "They thought that the bullet would silence us, but they failed."

Malala, a student in Pakistan who had been known for speaking out for children and women's educational rights, was shot in the head by a Taliban member while she was in a vehicle on her way to school.

Amazingly, after extensive surgery in the UK, she recovered; today was Malala's first public speech since the attack.

Addressing the audience of young people from some 80 different countries, Malala said, "Today is for every woman, boy and girl raising their voice for human rights."

The courageous young woman presented UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon with a petition signed by 3 million people, calling for support from the UN for educational rights of children around the world.

Click here to read the petition.

Malala is also reportedly writing a book about her life and the attempt to end it a year ago by the Taliban.