You may think I'm brave. But in the eyes of many people back in my country I am a coward. They think, this man gave so much freedom to his daughter, he broke all the traditions of our society.

Education is not simply to learn to read and write. It's emancipation. It makes you free.

On his daughter Malala Yousafzai: She was very articulate, more than me. She could say things in a very few words that I take a long time to communicate.

The world turned into a big black hole while my daughter was on the verge of life and death.

People ask me, what special is in my mentorship which has made Malala so bold and so courageous and so vocal and poised? I tell them, don't ask me what I did. Ask me what I did not do. I did not clip her wings, and that's all.

When the voice of truth rises from the minarets, the Buddha smiles, and the broken chain of history reconnects.

Take the example of my daughter. A lot of people were speaking out about education when the Taliban were bombing schools in Swat Valley, but Malala's voice was like a crescendo. It spread all around the world. She was the smallest but her voice was the biggest, because she was speaking for herself.