Malala Day Tanka For Malala Yousafzai Who Stood Up For Education And Against The Taliban Poem by Chen-ou Liu

'Malala Day
is not my day' thundered
across the room...
a girl opens her new book
under the Swat Valley sun


Note: excerpted from Malala Yousafzai’s speech at the United Nations

Dear brothers and sisters, do remember one thing. Malala day is not my day. Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who have raised their voice for their rights. There are hundreds of Human rights activists and social workers who are not only speaking for human rights, but who are struggling to achieve their goals of education, peace and equality. Thousands of people have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I am just one of them.

So here I stand... one girl among many.

I speak – not for myself, but for all girls and boys.

I raise up my voice – not so that I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard.

Those who have fought for their rights:

Their right to live in peace.

Their right to be treated with dignity.

Their right to equality of opportunity.

Their right to be educated.