Unit-1 Education and Humanity MalalaYousafzai

MalalaYousafzai

Ways with words

Now read the speech by Malala delivered at the United Nations Youth Assembly

on 12 July 2013.

Today, it is an honour for me to be speaking again after a long time. Being here with

such honourable people is a great moment in my life.I don't know where to begin my

speech. I don't know what people would be expecting me to say. But first of all, thank

you to God for whom we are all equal and thank you to every

person who has prayed for my fast recovery and a new life.

I cannot believe how much love people have shown me. I

have received thousands of good wish cards and gifts from

all over the world. Thank you to all of them. Thank you to the

children whose innocent words encouraged me. Thank you

to my elders whose prayers strengthened me. I would like to

 

thank my nurses, doctors and all of the staff of the hospitals in Pakistan and the UK

and the UAE governments who have helped me get better and recover my strength.

I fully support Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-General in his Global Education First

Initiative and the work of the UN Special Envoy Mr. Gordon Brown. And I thank

them both for the leadership they continue to give. They continue to inspire all of us

to action.

There are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers, who are not only

speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education,

peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions

have been injured. I am just one of them.

So here I stand, one girl among many.

I speak not for myself, but for all girls and boys.

I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be

heard.

Those who have fought for their rights:

Their right to live in peace.

Their right to be treated with dignity.

Their right to equality of opportunity.

Their right to be educated.

On the 9th of October 2012, 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 then, out of that silence came, thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they

would change our aims and stop our 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. My dreams

are the same.

I am not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge

against the Taliban or any other terrorists group. I am here to speak up for the right

of education of every child. I want education for the sons and the daughters of all the

extremists especially the Taliban.

I do not even hate the Talib who shot me. Even if there is a gun in my hand and he

stands in front of me, I would not shoot him. This is the compassion that I have learnt

from Muhammad-the prophet of mercy, Jesus Christ and Lord Buddha. This is the

legacy of change that I have inherited from Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and

Muhammad Ali Jinnah. This is the philosophy of non-violence that I have learnt from

Gandhi Jee, Bacha Khan and Mother Teresa. And this is the forgiveness that I have

learnt from my mother and father. This is what my soul is telling me, be peaceful and

love everyone.

We realise the importance of light when we see darkness. We realise the importance of

our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of

Pakistan, we realised the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

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. And that is why they killed 14

innocent medical students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they killed

many female teachers and polio workers in Khyber Pukhtoon Khwa and FATA. That

is why they are blasting schools every day. Because they were and they are afraid of

change, afraid of the equality that we will bring into our society.

I remember that there was a boy in our school who was asked by a journalist, “Why are

the Taliban against education?” He answered very simply. By pointing to his book he

said, “A Talib doesn't know what is written inside this book.” 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. Pakistan is peace-loving democratic country. Pashtuns want

education for their daughters and sons. And 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.

Peace is necessary for education. In many parts of the world wars and conflicts stop

children to go to their schools. We are really tired of these wars. Women and children

are suffering in many parts of the world in many ways. Young girls have to do domestic

child labour and are forced to get married at early age. Poverty, ignorance, injustice,

racism and the deprivation of basic rights are the main problems faced by both men

and women.

Today I am focusing on women's rights and girls' education because they are suffering

the most. There was a time when women social activists asked men to stand up for

their rights. But, this time, we will do it by ourselves. I am not telling men to step away from speaking for women's rights rather I am focusing on women to be independent to

fight for themselves.

Now it's time to speak up.

So today, we call upon the world leaders to change their strategic policies in favour of

peace and prosperity.

We call upon the world leaders that all the peace deals must protect women and

children's rights. A deal that goes against the dignity of women and their rights is

unacceptable.

We call upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all

over the world.

We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children

from brutality and harm.

We call upon the developed nations to support the expansion of educational opportunities

for girls in the developing world.

We call upon all communities to be tolerant – to reject prejudice based on cast, creed,

sect, religion or gender. To ensure freedom and equality for women so that they can

flourish, we cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave – to embrace the strength within

themselves and realise their full potential.

We want schools and education for every child's bright future. We will continue our

journey to our destination of peace and education for everyone. No one can stop us. We

will speak for our rights and we will bring change through our voice. We must believe

in the power and the strength of our words. Our words can change the world.

Because we are all together, united for the cause of education. And if we want to

achieve our goal, then let us empower ourselves with the weapon of knowledge and let

us shield ourselves with unity and togetherness.

A. Find the words from the text which mean the following.

a. a messenger or representative, especially one on a diplomatic mission -envoy

b. the state or quality of being worthy of honor or respect -Dignity

c. harm done to someone in response to harm- Revenge

d. a person who holds extreme views in political or religious matters -Extremist

e. sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings or misfortunes of others –Compassion

f. a person who is believed to speak for God- Prophet

g. the study of the nature of knowledge, reality and existence- Philosophy

 h. the use of physical force so as to injure, abuse, damage or destroy - Violence

 

i. an unreasonable dislike of a particular group of people or things- Prejudice

 

B. Match the words on the left with their opposite meanings on the right.

a. honour               iv. disgrace

b. innocent             iii. guilty

c. brutality            i. kindness

d. forgiveness          v. punishment

e. illiteracy           ii. literacy

 

a. Study the dictionary entry above and answer these questions.

i. What is the headword in the first entry? Humanity

 

ii. How many meanings of the word ‘humanity’ are given? 4

 

iii. What do the abbreviations U, OPP, pl, and sth stand for?

U- Uncountable Noun

Opp- Opposite

Pl Plural

Sth- Something

 

iv. What is the British English spelling of ‘humanize’? humanise

 

v. How is the word ‘humanize’ pronounced? /ˈhjuːmənaɪz/

vi. If we say Every person should have the sense of humanity, which meaning

of ‘humanity’ is applied?

people in general

 

b. Arrange the following words in alphabetical order.

i. acute

advance

agreement

aid

allergy

amuse

analysis

anxiety

assure

attain

 

ii. small

smallpox

smart

smashed

speaking

smearing

smoke

smoothly

smuggler

 

iii. terminal

 terminate

terminology

termite

terms

terrace

 terrible

terribly

terror

territory

Additional  Exercise

Comprehension

Answer the following questions.

a. Why did the speaker receive thousands of good-wishes cards and gifts from all

over the world?

 

The speaker received thousands of good-wishes cards and gifts from all

over the world for her fast recovery and a new life. They encouraged her to live after the attack of Taliban.

 

b. According to the speaker, what are hundreds of human rights activists and social

workers struggling for?

According to the speaker, there are hundreds of human rights activists and social workers, who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Despite their hard work Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured and she was one of them.

 

c. What has she learnt from Gandhi?

She has learnt the philosophy of non-violence.

 

d. In what sense is peace necessary for education?

 

Peace is necessary for education. Without it, there remains wars and conflicts in the world and can’t go to school. Women and children are suffering in many parts of the world in many ways. Young girls have to do domestic child labor and are forced to get married at an early age.

 

e. According to the speaker, what are the main problems faced by both men and

women?

According to the speaker, poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism, and the deprivation of basic rights are the main problems faced by both men and women.

 

f. What is Malala calling upon all governments?

Malala is calling upon all governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child all over the world. We call upon all governments to fight against terrorism and violence, to protect children from brutality and harm.

 

g. What is the main message of this speech?

The main message of this speech is education should be first since it is the only solution to poverty, injustice, and ignorance. Literacy is only a way to have a peaceful future. So every child should be educated.