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| 'Malala is my idol': UN speech brings British pupils to tears | 'Malala is my idol': UN speech brings British pupils to tears |
| (2 months later) | |
| The audience of school children, teachers and education advocates had been restless as the men in suits at the UN paid tribute to Malala Yousafzai on the big screen. But as the small girl draped in a bright pink shawl stood on the raised box and began to address her audience, there was total stillness. | The audience of school children, teachers and education advocates had been restless as the men in suits at the UN paid tribute to Malala Yousafzai on the big screen. But as the small girl draped in a bright pink shawl stood on the raised box and began to address her audience, there was total stillness. |
| Malala may have been several thousand miles away in New York, but at the Southbank Centre in London it was as if she were in the room. Tears were brushed away and spontaneous applause rippled through the room as she continued her historic speech. In the moments after it finished, as the applause died away, a group of pupils from the Sarah Bonnell girls' school in Stratford reacted as if they had had an audience with a rock star. "She is just my idol, I look up to her so much," said 13-year-old Arlina Hysenaj. "It's like she doesn't even know what revenge is, she just believes right can win." | Malala may have been several thousand miles away in New York, but at the Southbank Centre in London it was as if she were in the room. Tears were brushed away and spontaneous applause rippled through the room as she continued her historic speech. In the moments after it finished, as the applause died away, a group of pupils from the Sarah Bonnell girls' school in Stratford reacted as if they had had an audience with a rock star. "She is just my idol, I look up to her so much," said 13-year-old Arlina Hysenaj. "It's like she doesn't even know what revenge is, she just believes right can win." |
| Earlier, Sarah Brown had addressed the event – hosted by children's charity Plan UK, A World at School and the Southbank Centre – pre-empting Malala's own comment that terrorists were most afraid of education. | Earlier, Sarah Brown had addressed the event – hosted by children's charity Plan UK, A World at School and the Southbank Centre – pre-empting Malala's own comment that terrorists were most afraid of education. |
| "This is what we have to ask ourselves: why are the Taliban so scared of a girl carrying a book?" Brown asked. | "This is what we have to ask ourselves: why are the Taliban so scared of a girl carrying a book?" Brown asked. |
| "Malala, in her quiet and persistent way, is choosing to keep up her voice, energy and campaigning for the right for every boy and girl to go to school. We all have our role to play in that." | "Malala, in her quiet and persistent way, is choosing to keep up her voice, energy and campaigning for the right for every boy and girl to go to school. We all have our role to play in that." |
| Brown – whose husband, the former prime minister Gordon Brown, had earlier praised Malala at the event in New York – congratulated the Pakistani government for passing a law making primary school education mandatory. | Brown – whose husband, the former prime minister Gordon Brown, had earlier praised Malala at the event in New York – congratulated the Pakistani government for passing a law making primary school education mandatory. |
| She urged the government to increase the amount dedicated to schooling, currently set at just 2% of government spending. | She urged the government to increase the amount dedicated to schooling, currently set at just 2% of government spending. |
| "It's a big challenge. We are trying to get 57 million children around the world into school, but we have one brave girl who is standing up tall for it, and we are all standing with her." | "It's a big challenge. We are trying to get 57 million children around the world into school, but we have one brave girl who is standing up tall for it, and we are all standing with her." |
| Tanya Barron, the chief executive of Plan UK, said the movement set in motion by Malala was making a real difference. "We want to use that energy Malala has been generating fed in a loop to girls all around the world," she said. "She is the most fabulous beacon and is a rallying symbol for all of us, but it is not just about her: it's about the right of every child to get an education." | Tanya Barron, the chief executive of Plan UK, said the movement set in motion by Malala was making a real difference. "We want to use that energy Malala has been generating fed in a loop to girls all around the world," she said. "She is the most fabulous beacon and is a rallying symbol for all of us, but it is not just about her: it's about the right of every child to get an education." |
| To the children in the room, Malala had already achieved so much. "I think she was so brave to risk her life just to go to school, to be honest. I'm not sure I would do that," said eight-year-old Felix Wanendeya, from Edmund Waller primary in New Cross. Amirah Dubbuisson, 10, added: "Not a lot of people would stand up and go against what everyone was saying. She is an inspiration." | To the children in the room, Malala had already achieved so much. "I think she was so brave to risk her life just to go to school, to be honest. I'm not sure I would do that," said eight-year-old Felix Wanendeya, from Edmund Waller primary in New Cross. Amirah Dubbuisson, 10, added: "Not a lot of people would stand up and go against what everyone was saying. She is an inspiration." |
| Asked how the speech had made her feel, Ayesha Mangerah, 13, from Sarah Bonnell school, gave a big smile. "Brilliant," she said. "If she can do that, we can do anything." | Asked how the speech had made her feel, Ayesha Mangerah, 13, from Sarah Bonnell school, gave a big smile. "Brilliant," she said. "If she can do that, we can do anything." |
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