I was a girl in a land where rifles are fired in celebration of a son, while daughters are hidden away behind a curtain, their role in life simply to prepare food and give birth to children.

We like to put sacred texts in flowing waters, so I rolled it up, tied it to a piece of wood, placed a dandelion on top, and floated it in the stream which flows into the Swat River. Surely God would find it there.

We cannot all succeed when half of us are held back.

We are starving for education... it's like a precious gift. It's like a diamond.

Books are a better investment in our future than bullets. Books, not bullets, will pave the path towards peace and prosperity.

I truly believe the only way we can create global peace is through not only educating our minds, but our hearts and our souls.

I don't want to be thought of as the 'girl who was shot by the Taliban' but the 'girl who fought for education. This is the cause to which I want to devote my life.