Malala Yousafzai: Address at the Youth Takeover of the United Nations

Malala Yousafzai: Address at the Youth Takeover of the United Nations Analysis

K.M.

Robert Morris University

Reading and Writing Strategies

Professor Zottola

March 2, 2018

Malala Yousafzai: Address at the Youth Takeover of the United Nations Analysis

Malala Yousafzai, an education activist who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban in October of 2012 was the youngest person in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, but before that, she gave an address to the United Nations on July 12, 2013, her sixteenth birthday. In that address, which was listened to by delegates from around the world, Malala advocated for world leaders to make education the main priority of every nation, not war and violence. Malala’s point of view was that children should be armed with knowledge, not weapons.

Malala grew up in the Swat Valley in Pakistan. Her father, the founder of the school she attended, believed that all children, regardless of their gender, are entitled to an education. Malala was very influenced by her father’s beliefs, so she was greatly troubled when the Taliban invaded the Swat Valley and banned girls from receiving an education. She spoke out against the Taliban and using a pen name to hide her identity she became a blogger for BBC to give a first-hand account of life under the Taliban rule. However, she was soon identified and became a target. On October 9, 2012, Malala was shot in the head on the bus home from school by a Talib (Yousafzai, 2013, p. 314).

Yousafzai’s purpose for writing this speech is to persuade world leaders that violence and war are not answer to difficult problems. Education and knowledge can solve m