Nigeria: The Spirit of Malala

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Shamed and angered by the cold-blooded massacre of 40 pupils and 2 teachers in Mamudo village, Yobe State, (and similar heinous murders of teachers, children and health workers elsewhere), and having to sit through daily reports of bombings and shootings of worshipers in mosques (or breaking their Ramadan fast) all over the Middle East since the fasting started, by misguided souls who believe they are killing in God's name, I wanted to write something to boost our morale. Then I listened to this brave 16-year-old addressing the whole world.

Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani teenage girl, was shot point-blank in the head by the Taliban just for going to school. The Almighty decreed she was going to survive, Alhamdulillahi. She is now a global beacon for the rights of girls and women, a voice for the right to education for every child in this world. She delivered the following speech before the United Nations Youth Assembly on 'Malala Day', to celebrate her 16th birthday. I am convinced that reproducing an abridge version of her brave, inspiring and beautiful speech is the best service I can render my readers. This teenager is telling us to stand up and resist being dragged back into ignorance and barbarity. Her example of this should be an inspiration to us all. This is an abridged version of what got her a standing ovation from the representatives of the world. (And 'Happy Birthday' Malala!)

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