Malala Yousafzai made headlines last year after being shot by the Taliban for demanding education for girls. She celebrated her 16th birthday this year with an emotional speech at the United Nations.
Addressing the U.N and 1,000 students also in attendance, Yousafzai again spoke of the importance of education, "Let us pick up our books and pens. They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world."
Yousafzai was shot on the left of her forehead last October after leaving school in Pakistan because of her campaign against the Taliban who wanted to deny women their education. Her friends were also shot at and wounded.
"They thought that the bullet would silence us but they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorist thought that would change my aim and stop my ambitions but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died, strength, fervor and courage was born." Yousafzai goes on to say in her speech. She wore a pink scarf and the white shawl that belonged to the Pakistani Prime Minister Bhutto who was killed in 2007 during an election rally.
She presented the U.N Secretary-General Ban Kimoon with a petition containing over 4 million signatures in support of the 57 million children around the world who are unable to attend school, demanding funding for new schools,teachers and supplies to end "child labor, marriage and traffiking", as reported by Reuters. Kimoon followed up saying the U.N was committed to a plan to get all children in school by 2015.
Yousafzai, unable to go to school in Pakistan, has enrolled at a school in England after her miraculous recovery. Pakistan has over 5 million children out of school, the only nation surpassing this number is Nigeria with 10 million children not attending school.