The audience of youth representatives gathered for Malala Yousafzai’s speech on July 12, 2013. (Photo: BRAC USA/Reva Abrol)
On October 9, 2012, while returning home on a school bus, Pakistani teenager and education activist Malala Yousafzai was shot in an assassination attempt by the Taliban. Though the gunmen attempted to silence her voice with bullets, their efforts only served to loudly call attention to the need for a large-scale revision of global policy on the education of today’s youth, and more specifically, girls’ education.
Malala Yousafzai at the UN headquarters on July 12, 2013 (Photo: BRAC USA/Reva Abrol)
While the day proved to be a gross tragedy in the history of female oppression, it also served as a serious wake-up call for international leaders and youth activists alike to take action against human rights’ violations and the ongoing resistance to gender equality in education.
In support of United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s Global Education First Initiative, the United Nations (UN) decided to convene Malala Day at the UN Headquarters in New York, on Friday, July 12, 2013, Malala’s 16th birthday.
As part of a combined initiative to push policy development for the 2nd Millennium Development Goal of achieving universal primary education and to recognize a recovered Malala’s unwavering courage to stand up for her beliefs, youth representatives from United Nations agencies and nonprofits around the world assembled and called upon the international community to demonstrate courage and action in defending girls’ rights to equal educational opportunities and in promoting worldwide policy change.
Beginning with the UN Youth Assembly, participants heard speeches from Gordon Brown, UN special envoy for global education; Vuk Jeremić, president of the UN general assembly; Ban Ki-moon, UN secretary-general; Ahmad Alhendawi, UN special envoy for youth; and birthday girl Malala Yousafzai herself. Youth representatives from the BRAC USA office in New York were selected to participate in the Malala Day activities at the UN Headquarters.
Malala Yousafzai delivering her speech at the United Nations on July 12, 2013. (Photo: BRAC USA/Reva Abrol)
In her first public speech since the assassination attempt in 2012, Malala professed her gratitude for such large-scale support and spoke of the fateful day that had touched millions of lives with a resounding permanence and had changed her life in one key respect: “Weakness, fear, and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage were born.”
In her speech, Malala humbly declared her small role in an immense problem, calling herself “one girl among many”, and called upon women and girls to take matters into their own hands in defending their rights as global citizens. “There was a time when men fought for women’s rights, but this time, we’re doing it ourselves,” she said.
Calling upon the international community to join in the struggle for universal primary education, Malala insisted, “Let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge, and let us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.” Malala’s inspirational and impassioned words touched the hearts and minds of all who heard her speak on Friday. The UN Youth Assembly’s concluding resolution further urged governments and individuals to honor their commitment to realizing the right to global education.
BRAC USA’s youth represenatives in attendance for Malala Yousafzai’s speech on July 12, 2013. From left to right: Grace Ding, Reva Abrol, Priom Ahmed, and Amanda Cucchiara. (Photo: BRAC USA/Reva Abrol)
Later, at the Education First Youth Fair, a convention of youth representatives from UN agencies and NGOs around the world, BRAC USA representatives shared case stories of individuals who had benefited from the BRAC Education Programs in Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Philippines in support of the convention’s overarching theme of supporting universal primary education.
BRAC’s education programs, which offer “second chance” primary education to marginalized children in poor rural communities through over 36,000 schools in six different countries, support the United Nations’ initiative to promote universal primary education and exemplify Malala’s emphasis on placing decision-making capacity in the hands of communities and youth who are affected by such resolutions.
Malala Day served to be a lynchpin of global commitment to education. With over 4.25 million signatures on the petition to put every child in school by 2015, and over 500 youth delegates in attendance at the United Nations Headquarters, the event underscored the collaborative potential of the international community to speak out against the world’s injustices and in the face of violence, inequality, and oppression, foster hope for a better future.
As Malala said in her speech, “They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed. And then, out of that silence, came thousands of voices.” It was an honor to represent BRAC standing with Malala and the thousands of voices that will not longer be silenced in the global struggle for universal education.
