click on the image to watch the speech!
More than 120 million girls are out of school today. Girls living in areas of conflict are 90% more likely to be out of school. A big form of this conflict in the current world today are the Taliban. Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who for years has actively spoken out against the Taliban even when it posed a threat to her life. She strongly activates for women’s and children’s rights to an education. Malala became a global figure when she survived an assassination attempt at just age 15 and, after the fall of Kabul in August of 2021 she gave a moving speech to the United Nations Security Council.
Malala was born on July 12, 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan. Her father Ziauddin Yousafzai was a teacher who ran a girls school in their village. He was determined to give his daughter every opportunity a boy would be given. In January 2008 the Taliban took control of her town and banned girls from going to school. Malala spoke up against this injustice. In October of 2012 a gunman boarded her bus on the way home from school and shot her in the head. People around the world began to pray for her recovery. After surviving and relocating to the U.K, Malala knew she could not stay quiet and she continued to activate for womens and childrens rights across the globe. In December 2014 she became the youngest person to ever receive a Nobel Peace Prize for the work she did through her foundation “Malala Fund.” She graduated from Oxford University in 2020.
Malala gave a speech to the United Nations Security Council September 9th 2021 in response to the fall of Kabul to the Taliban. On August 15th 2021, two weeks before US troops were set to officially withdraw from Afghanistan, the Taliban entered into the capital city of Kabul with very little resistance. This led to the immediate collapse of the Afghan government and the beginning of the reign of a terrorist government. On September 9th The United Nations Security Council met to report on the situation and discuss its implications for international peace and security. Malala spoke to urge the council to take action and help the people of Afghanistan. Her speech was very effective at educating the audience on the situation and showing the strong need and importance of the Security Council’s assistance.
Click the image to learn more about the fall of Kabul
She began the speech by discussing her personal experiences with the Taliban. She spoke of how they completely took over her world and turned it into a place of terror and violence. Malala explain how at just age 10 she heard “bombs, gunfire and explosions” and that at just age 11 she saw “banners on shopping malls announcing women were not allowed. I saw notices on school gates declaring girls were prohibited. I saw women flogged in the streets.” Also mentioned was the attempt on her life for speaking out about girls rights. For each of these points she also mentions her age. This is an important point to show that this is the typical experience of a young child under Taliban control. She then begins to share others stories that are happening currently and the violence that follows people speaking up. Then Malala makes what I believe to be one of the most important points to this speech. That “girls’ education is a powerful tool for building peace and security.” She states that when girls are educated, countries recover from conflict faster, educating women promotes stability and community, and that it even leads to less conflict in general. This argument is important and very effective in convincing the Council to help Afghanistan. If girls being educated can not only help a country recover faster but prevent conflict overall that helps the council tremendously in the future. The council’s overall goal is peace, and the fall of Kabul is a large threat to peace in many nations.
Malala then in her speech does something extremely important, she gives the United Nations Security Council a step by step guide on how to address this issue. She states that they must “first, send a clear and unequivocal message to the Taliban that a fundamental condition of any working relationship is upholding girls’ right to education in accordance with international treaties and conventions.” She follows this up by saying that the Taliban must guarantee the rights of women and girls. Her statements are specific and straight to the point which is important for this audience. She previously appealed to people’s emotions to get them to understand her position but here she tells them exactly what needs to be done and how to do it. She follows the first step up by stating the second one, to “build upon Security Council resolution 2593.” In this step she asks the council to support a system that tracks and monitors abuse of human rights in Afghanistan with a focus on girls education. She also mentions resources such as “the U.N. High Commissioner” who successfully implemented human rights in Muslim-majority countries into cultural and religious contexts. Her attention to detail, especially detail of policy is highly important to show her compancy behind what she is saying. Her third request is to ensure all schools are safe and open by implementing resolution 2593. She also mentions that neighboring countries should also receive aid to insure that all refugee children are being educated as well. She then begins to come to her conclusion. After giving all of these detailed and vital steps she states how it must begin. She says “I urge the leaders at Monday’s emergency aid conference to agree to a generous financing package to ensure all Afghan children can return to school as soon as possible.” It is at the end of the speech where we see her goal. This goal is for the Council to all agree on a financing package that can ensure her plan goes into place. She finishes her speech by stating that the council speaking up against the Taliban can make a real difference and that this is important not just for Afghan girls but for “long-term security in the region and our world.”
While the United Nations Security Council did not directly implement resolution 2593 after this speech they did implement resolutions with very similar goals that align with the goals in Malala’s speech. The resolution 2596 was unanimously adopted which stressed the critical importance of the presence of all United Nations agencies, funds and programs across Afghanistan. Even more similar to Malala’s goals, in October of 2021 resolution 2601 was adopted which called on all parties to promote and protect the right to education even during conflict. In 2024 The United Nations has allocated 28.4 million dollars towards quality education and 54.8 million dollars for gender equality in Afghanistan for the sustainable development goals .
Today Malala Yousafzai remains an important figure in women’s rights. Her foundation “Malala Fund” works to invest in local education activists, advocate to hold leaders accountable, and amplify girls’ voices. They champion every girl’s right to 12 years of a safe and free quality education. So far they have invested $47 million in Malala fund programs. Given the fact that about 120 million girls are out of school today her message is highly important. Given her background and personal experiences she is the perfect person to effectively give this message and allow people to understand the consequences we may face if we do not take action.
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