Malala Yousafzai lived through the difficult reality of what can happen to someone who stands up for what they believe in. Luckily for Malala, immediately following her attack, she was airlifted to the United Kingdom. Since then she has been living abroad, safe from the Taliban. She was lucky to be alive and lucky to be in a safe place, but Malala didn't stop fighting to help all those she left behind.
Malala had the opportunity to set fear and worry aside and deliver an emotional speech that would be heard globally. Speaking to the United Nations was her chance to clearly state her passionate thoughts, concerns, and hopes for the future.
Malala Yousafzai's Speech
Malala gave an extraordinary speech. If you would like to listen to her entire speech, this is a great time in the lesson to do so.
Using your favorite search engine, type the following into the search box: Malala Yousafzai’s speech to the United Nations.
Take a close look at a paragraph from Malala's speech. While you are reading, think about the main idea of this paragraph. Which sentences act as supporting details for the main idea?
"Dear sisters and brothers, we realize the importance of light when we see darkness. We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way, when we were in Swat, the north of Pakistan, we realized the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns. The wise saying, “The pen is mightier than the sword.” It is 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. This is why they killed 14 innocent students in the recent attack in Quetta. And that is why they kill female teachers. That is why they are blasting schools every day because they were and they are afraid of change and equality that we will bring to our society. And 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.”
Read each sentence from Malala’s speech in the table below. How does the sentence support the main idea of the overall paragraph? Click on the sentence in column one to compare your thoughts with a sample answer.
| The extremists are afraid of books and pens. | In this paragraph, Malala focused on the idea that people are afraid of change and afraid of losing power or control. Being afraid of books and pens is an exaggeration. The Taliban are not literally afraid of books and pens, but they are afraid of what a book and pen can create. Books and pens can create knowledge, and knowledge is power. This exaggeration is very effective because it creates a stronger emotion than a long explanation would have. If Malala had written several sentences trying to explain why the extremists are afraid of books and pens, the point and the emotion would have been lost. |
| The power of the voice of women frightens them. | Malala grew up in a country ruled by men. Once women started speaking up, many men became worried about how that would affect the way things worked in their society. Men became frightened of women's voices because they didn't know what they were going to say, but they were certain if one woman stood up then more would follow. Women's voices were starting to speak out against the Taliban's power and control—which is the main idea of this paragraph. |
| That is why they are blasting schools every day because they were and they are afraid of change and equality that we will bring to our society. | Equality means control is spread out equally. This sentence supports the main idea of this paragraph because equality for many means that some must "share" the control they once had. Many men were not willing to make this change and felt it was necessary to ensure that equality never happened----no matter the risk. |
Now that you have had a chance to explore some supporting details, it is your turn to practice. Match the supporting detail to the main idea it best supports.
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Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I speak not for myself, but so those without a voice can be heard.
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I feel alone, fighting for such a noble cause without others.
I am just one of many who wish to be heard.
I don't give up like many others before me.
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Peace is a necessity of education.
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In many countries fear and war stop kids from going to school.
School is where kids have fun and play with friends.
Kids cannot learn if they don't go to school.
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We call upon our sisters around the world to be brave, to embrace the strength within themselves and realize their full potential.
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We need everyone with a sister to stand up and fight for education.
We hope that lots of people have family or friends in other countries so that we can share information.
We need everyone working together to fight against things like terrorism and for educational freedom.
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Complete
