I think life is always dangerous. Some people get afraid of it. Some people don't go forward. But some people, if they want to achieve their goal, they have to go. They have to move.

As we crossed the Malakand Pass I saw a young girl selling oranges. She was scratching marks on a piece of paper with a pencil to account for the oranges she had sold, as she could not read or write. I took a photo of her and vowed I would do everything in my power to help educate girls just like her. This was the war I was going to fight.

If one man can destroy everything, why can't one girl change it?

There is no greater weapon than knowledge and no greater source of knowledge than the written word.

Ignorance allowed politicians to fool people and bad administrators to be re-elected.

We realize the importance of light when we see darkness. We realize the importance of our voice when we are silenced. In the same way when we were in Swat, we realized the importance of pens and books when we saw the guns.

The extremists are afraid of books and pens, the power of education frightens them. they are afraid of women.