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[MUSIC] [APPLAUSE] >> Thank you.
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>> [APPLAUSE] >> Okay, [FOREIGN], Malala. >> [FOREIGN] Thank you.
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>> Clearly, the GSB is very excited to have you here today.
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Before we start, I want to say a personal thank you, Malala.
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As a fellow Pakistani, a brother to two sisters, a son to a mother back in Karachi I'm humbled and filled with gratitude to share the stage with you today.
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>> Thank you so much and I'm also honored to be here.
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Thank you so much to everyone for your presence and I'm so excited to have this conversation.
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>> Great, there are a lot of important topics we have to cover today.
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We don't have too much time.
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I want to start with one, which is very important to the both of us. >> Yes. >> And that's Cricket. >> Yes.
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>> [APPLAUSE] >> Have you been following the World Cup in the last week?
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>> Yes, I always follow Cricket and I even would watch any league, any match that is to do with Cricket and I watched as much as well that are five days long, but T20 is the shortest in the international ones and Pakistan is doing really well this time.
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It started with India, then you beat them, then New Zealand. Again, we won.
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And today, it was Afghanistan, we w on again.
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I think in the last two overs, a lot of people had given up and they thought Pakistan was going to lose, but I had full faith.
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A Pakistan was going to win today and my intuition is never wrong. >> Wow, there you go.
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>> [APPLAUSE] >> Great, so let's perhaps start with Pakistan.
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Before you were even ten years old back in Swat, you were allowed advocate in your community for close education and drills being in school.
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That's not I would say typical of a ten-year old girl in Pakistan.
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What made you do that at that early age?
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>> I think people often time hear about my story and they are surprised that I was speaking out for my right to education at age 10, 11 and it is an unusual story but.
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Also, this was the case, because what I was experiencing was unusual for girls.
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And that was because at that time, the Pakistani Taliban had entered Swat Valley in 2007.
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They started spreading this ideology of establishing the so-called Islamic state and they wanted to bring in their own so-called Sharia system and they wanted to like Pakistan was already an Islamic country.
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So how do you make another Islamic country inside in an Islamic country?
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But then along with that, they also had this narrative against women and they carry a very patriarchal mindset.
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As soon as they entered, they banned women from going to markets.
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They banned women from having any profession from going to work.
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They will not allow them to go outside their houses without wearing a full shuttlecock burqa and you had to have a custodian with you, it could even be your little brother.
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And I remember my mom or me or any woman like going outside to see a doctor or somebody and they would have these little boys with them and I would always question, how's this little boy going to protect me, right, they can't.
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Instead, I'm protecting them.
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>> [LAUGH] >> But at that time, they also announced a ban on girls education and I could not go to school.
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My friends could not go to school.
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So I had no choice, but to speak out for my right to go to school.
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>> And I want to touch on the role your father played, the Godin.
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You've spoken about him previously.
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How much of an influence was he in that upbringing at that early age, especially when it comes to education?
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>> I'm really proud of my dad.
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He is a proud feminist and he saw that his own five sisters could not get their education, and they did not have access to a future that he had.
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And he knew that his life was different, because he was a boy nothing else.
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Gender played a role in deciding the destinies of of the siblings and he was really passionate about bringing equality into society.
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So he decided that when he has his own children, he would ensure that they're not discriminated based on their gender.
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And he has always loved me and he has been a proud that he has encouraged me to believe in myself, and I always tell people that my story is not an exception story.
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It could have been the story of any girl if their fathers and their brothers had allowed them to speak out.
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Many were stopped by their family members.
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Many were stopped by men in the society.
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What's different in my story is that my father did not stop me.
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And that's what he says when you ask him, what did you do for your daughter?
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He says that don't ask me what I did, but asked me what I did not do and I did not clip her wings.
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So it's a message to women and girls all around the world that they don't need any sort of superpower or anything special to go ahead in their life.
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There are so many barriers in front of them that makes it more difficult for them to go ahead.
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So we need to fight against those barriers, the glass ceiling, the iron bars in their way and men have a role to play in that.
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So for me, my dad has always been supportive and I have always been this sort of I like giving advice.
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So I'm always there telling my dad how things should be and what we should do.
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When you're like a kid and that's your thing, and that's how you talk to your family members.
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So I have carried it on since then, but he always listens. He's a great dad.
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>> Great and just on your father, I read somewhere that he also named you, Malala. It's a beautiful name.
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You tell us more about the story behind your name.
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>> So Malala means grief-stricken, basically in Pashto, but the name has more historical meaning as well.
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And it was a name of this Afghan, heron.
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Malalai of my one and she came from this area in Afghanistan.
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And her story goes like this that there was the second Anglo Afghan War and the Afghan soldiers were losing that battle, and they were leaving the battlefield.
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When this young woman went to the mountaintop and she raised her voice and told the soldiers that if you do not die on this battlefield today, you will live your life in shame forever.
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And her voice was so powerful that all the soldiers returned and they fought that war, and they won.
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I think it has more meaning in our culture and she's probably the only Pashtoon hero that we have, and who is known by her own name.
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And so my father was just really proud of her and he Wanted to name me after somebody who was known by her own name.
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>> Right, now I think that's beautiful just based off the life you've lived so far, how it Mirrors Malala and I know that story.
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So let's perhaps just move on, fast forward a few years. You're 17 years old now.
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This is late 2012, early 2013, after the Taliban attack.
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You're recovering, the months are rolling by, you're in a different country, you're in the UK.
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Take us back to that time of helplessness, of despair, you've gone through such a lot.
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How did you think about what you wanted to do next in your life?
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And kind of just put us in that position and how did you think about that?
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>> So when I was in the hospital, I had no idea that I was receiving so much support from around the world.
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I was not seeing any television, any mobile phone, and I was going under all the health care and treatment.
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And then one day this staff member at the hospital brought this basket of cards and letters.
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And I was opening those cards and reading messages from people from all over the world.
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A letter from a five year old girl to a letter from an eight year old person in the US or in Japan.
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And I was completely amazed and surprised that people had heard my story and they were sending their prayers and they were sending me even gifts.
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From shampoo to scarves to shoes to anything you could possibly think of.
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And I was completely amazed, and then the staff member told me that this is just one box, there are so many boxes there with us.
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You have received thousands and thousands of cards from people from all over the world.
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And that's when I realized that I can speak out for girls globally.
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The Taliban tried to silence me, but they made a huge mistake.
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Because I am in a position where I can not only speak about my right to education and for girls in Swat Valley, but I can speak out for girls globally.
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And since then it has been my mission to ensure that all 130 million girls who are out of school can have access to education. >> Thats good.
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>> [APPLAUSE] >> So that's the mission, the 130, free, safe, quality education for girls around the world.
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How did you come up with the idea of a fund or a foundation?
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Who who helped you, who guided you at that early age?
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Walk us through that process of why the fund was the best vehicle to achieve that mission >> So I'll be honest, when I started this foundation, I wasn't really sure how these things worked.
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I was, I think 16, years old.
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I was also studying, I was a bit behind in my studies because I had missed a few years because of my treatment.
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So I had to do my homework and I had to be in school and then I had to do these events because I was invited to different places.
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And then I started a foundation as well called Malala Fund.
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And initially when I was asked, what do I want focus on?
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And I said, on girls education, I want all girls to be in school.
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That's what I want to work for.
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But then they said no, no, you have to be a bit more specific.
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Do you want to work in this country or that country and do you want to build schools or do you want, so many questions?
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I was like no, I want to do everything.
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I want all girls to be in school, I can't pick.
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This has been the mission for us since then, that we fight for all girls who are out of school.
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And we currently work in more than eight countries including Pakistan, Nigeria, Brazil, India, Afghanistan, Lebanon.
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And our mission is to ensure that we work with local activists, and we support the local led projects that address the issues and the barriers that girls face in their pride to education.
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So it could be from training female teachers, to changing legislations, to addressing social norms and engaging the local communities.
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And the work has been remarkable when you work with local activists, because they identify the problem but they also identify solutions to those problems.
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>> That's great, you mentioned earlier studying, and you graduated from Oxford last year in the summer.
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But you've been an activist well before that, before Oxford, back in Swat and since the attacks as well.
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What did you get from that classroom education?
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I believe you were at PPE at Oxford.
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How did the classroom education over those three years change your view on how to approach this problem and just your approach and advocacy and activism compared to what you knew before? >> I'll be honest.
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When I was studying at university at Oxford, education was still important to me, but it was not a priority.
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>> [LAUGH] >> Because they tell you that you learn a lot from your textbooks and from your lectures but you also learn a lot from meeting people and socializing with people.
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And I will be honest I met incredible people there, I made amazing friends and I'm friends with them now forever.
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And I also got the opportunity to engage and interact with incredible professors and these amazing intellectual people whose books I'll be reading for my essays.
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So it's just great to have that opportunity.
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And then Oxford is just so beautiful.
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So you spent a lot of time in the beautiful gardens and libraries there.
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And you spend amazing time with your friends.
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And then you go through essay crisis, and then you're awake the whole night just to finish your essay that you left the last day.
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>> [LAUGH] >> I mean, it's your fault and every week you are just depressed.
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Why did you do this to yourself again?
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But it happens and then you don't regret having all those incredible experiences.
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So you're like fair enough and then you submit your essay.
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>> [LAUGH] >> And go back to sleep at 8am in the morning.
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>> [LAUGH] >> I'm sure there are many people here who can relate to that experience.
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>> [LAUGH] >> You shouldn't be so hard on yourself.
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I want to go back to the fund's mission, 130 million girls who you want to get back into school K through 12.
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This last few months and the last year has been difficult for that mission, on a number of different reasons.
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Perhaps let's just go back to August of this year, the Taliban recapture Afghanistan.
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How did you receive that news? How did it sit with you?
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What was your initial reaction having already lived through that nine years previously?
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>> No one expected the Taliban to take over Afghanistan, no one.
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And I remember just two weeks before the Taliban took over Kabul, I had a call with all the activists that we were supporting in Afghanistan, our education champions there.
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And some of them still had hope that Afghanistan can never fall into the hands of the Taliban.
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And so, just like everyone else, the whole world was shocked.
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I was shocked as well, to see that the Taliban were now in the whole country, and they were ruling over people.
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And I think, it's again, a gloomy time for women and girls there.
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And we already see the impact of that.
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Women have lost opportunity to walk freely to their job places, many of them have not returned to their workplace.
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And girls at this time, are not sure if they can go back to schools or not.
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The Taliban announced, I think 43 days ago, that boys can return to schools, but they did not give any clear statement on whether girls can return to their schools or not.
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So, we started then a petition together with Afghan activist and it's on avast.
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org and we are asking the Taliban to immediately let girls be in schools.
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We're also asking G20 leaders in the Muslim countries to take a bold stand for this.
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They must protect the rights of girls and they must protect the right to education for girls.
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Afghanistan right now is the only country in the world where girls are not allowed to be in school.
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>> And just on that issue, Malala, sometimes it's difficult for us to visualize the 130 million girls who are not in school.
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Where you're at Stanford in California, dare I say much very much a bubble compared to the issues that were all seen on the frontlines.
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Can you help us understand why is this not just a women's or a girls' issue, but an issue for everyone?
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And this is not something that countries in another part of the world need to worry about.
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But this is truly a global issue for everyone around the world.
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>> I think firstly, we need to remember that the Taliban government in Afghanistan right now, it's a forceful government.
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It's not by the choice of the people of Afghanistan. They had no say in this.
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The Taliban have captured those cities by force, even though they claim that they have not fired their guns.
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But they still were holding guns on their shoulders and they still had the cuffs on their shoulders, so they are using power, they are using their military power to suppress people, to force people to accept them.
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But also they're denying people their basic human rights and they're not very clear about that.
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They are giving very vague statements on protecting the human rights of people.
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So I think this is the time that all the world leaders who speak about protecting humanity and who speak about standing up for human rights, that they stand up for the rights of the people of Afghanistan.
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And it's really important for them to protect the rights of women and girls, to protect the rights of minorities, especially but also ensure that all the humanitarian assistance and aid is provided to people there.
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We know that the presence of the Taliban has impact in the lives of people but there's also other issues like COVID and severe drought as well.
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So those issues cannot be denied either, it's going to a stage of famine as well.
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And these are issues that must be considered.
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So, this is what our advocacy and our activism is asking for leaders to act soon.
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>> You mentioned advocacy activism.
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Typically that's work done by the government, by the nonprofit sector, by foundations and so on.
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A lot of us here will graduate from the GSB and enter the business community and the private sector potentially.
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What is the role of businesses in the private sector in partnering in various ways in solving this problem?
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>> I think this is a question and this is a challenge, and I don't have answers to all of these questions.
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But I will say that everybody has a role to play in ensuring support to those who do not have a voice right now, who do not have the support that they need.
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A lot of people right now in Afghanistan need safety.
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And there have been many organizations, including businesses who have helped in the evacuation of so many people.
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So I think the top priority is to ensure that the people in Afghanistan, especially the activists who are under threat from the Taliban, that they receive safety and protection.
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And we did that for our activists in Afghanistan and for other families.
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And a lot of other organizations and government officials have done that for many families there. So that is essential.
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But along with that, we also need to explore other ways in which we can use our expertise and resources to make education more accessible for children in Afghanistan.
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And I think this is something where business community can help.
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How can we use the technology that we have to ensure that education is given to girls in Afghanistan in other ways rather than formal schooling.
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And along with that, I think still humanitarian assistance and support is needed.
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And businesses have the opportunity to support the work that is happening there for the safety and protection of people, for ensuring that they're given their basic needs.
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So again there are so many ways in which people can help but it also requires collective effort to think through this and also engage the people of Afghanistan in these conversations.
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>> You mentioned technology.
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I believe you recently had a partnership announced with Apple based in Silicon Valley, tell us more about what's the vision behind that partnership with Apple?
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>> So, with Apple, Malala Fund has been working over the past many years and Apple has supported our projects.
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So it was also covering the work that we are doing in Afghanistan and then other countries like Nigeria, India, Pakistan and we run this activist program which is called Malala Fund Education Activist.
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And we have I think more than 50 activist in all of those countries right now and they are working on addressing the problems that girl face in their local communities.
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For instance, when COVID started, our activist in Nigeria, they conducted a research straight away and they were looking at the impact of COVID-19 on girls education.
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And they realized that girls missed out on their education because they don't have access to digital tools.
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They are also more likely to be forced into marriages when they are stuck in their houses, and they also could be supporting their families financially or in the household chores.
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And so then they, our activists, they started doing lessons through radios.
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So they would ensure that even if the girls cannot attend their schools because of COVID, they're still learning their lessons through radio.
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And that is the best form of technology in those areas, other technological devices and tools may not work.
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And so, that is just one example of how they are just ensuring that children do not miss out on education and they keep on learning.
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So Apple, they are one of our biggest supporters and it's great to work with them.
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>> So that's an example of your time commitments, your priorities, partnering with Apple.
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And you're obviously, you travel around the world, do a bunch of speeches, you're meeting students, you're also at the grassroots level visiting refugee camps, and schools and so on.
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As you think about your personal time, Where do you feel your own time is best used in that fight against getting the 130 million girls back into school?
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What's most important for your time?
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>> I think I'm always there when my voice is needed, and I was very fortunate that I got the opportunity to visit countries and to join girls who needed their voices to be heard.
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I have been to Nigeria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan and I have met incredible girls who are fighting for their right to safety and education.
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And many of these girls have faced displacement and they have seen wars and conflicts in their hometown.
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And they are living in refugee camps or informal settlements, but they have not given up on their dreams.
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Often time, I'm expected to inspire them but it's the other way around, they inspire me and everyone else who are joining us.
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And I remember there was one girl I met, her name was Nigella in Iraq, and she was girl and her family were decided that she should get married.
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She was only 14 years old and she was in her wedding dress.
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And on that day, she decided that she does not want to be forced into marriage, she does not want to miss out on her education.
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So she took off her high heels and she ran away to protect herself from that.
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And then later on when she came back, she tried to convince her father and her family to allow her to be in school and she started going back to school.
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But then when ISIS came into her hometown, they had to evacuate, again, and now when I met her, she was in this informal settlement.
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But she was still passionate about learning and getting her education, and I saw that she was carrying a dictionary with herself.
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And I asked her, I said, why do you carry a dictionary with you?
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She said, I want to learn a few words every day.
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So this is the passion that girls carry for education and learning.
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And despite all the difficulties that they face from walking for long distances and not having all the resources like books and teachers, they still are committed to receiving their education.
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Nigella was incredible, then she also came to the US and she spoke at the UN platform, and she shared her story.
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So my goal is to meet these girls, but also uplift their voices.
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So like leaders, listen to them rather than me, and this is my goal in every meeting that I go to is that the activists and girls are with me.
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And I introduced myself but I'm like, let's listen to Nigella.
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Let's listen to these activists and they have something to say to you.
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You have been ignoring their voices, so hear from them and they will tell you what the issues are in this country for girls and women.
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>> That's beautiful, just hearing the stories themselves is a lot more powerful than advocates and so on and so forth.
26:58
Previously, you've also mentioned potentially interest in politics.
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Is that still on the roadmap?
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Now that you're done with Oxford, what's next? >> No, not yet. No interest in politics.
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I think when I said that I wanted to be the prime minister of Pakistan at that time, I was 12 or 13 years old.
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And I was really disappointed with the role of our political leaders, because what was happening in SWAT was just taking so long.
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And for me it was just absurd that no one would take any action.
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And as days went by, and I thought girls in SWAT Valley cannot go to school, there is a conflict, our schools are bombed.
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We hear firing every night, we are having sleepless nights, and we are under threat.
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And no one does anything, and it happens for two years.
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So at that time, I said, okay, fine I asked you guys you didn't do anything so I'll I'll one day become the prime minister and I'll fix it.
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But then I was really fortunate that I have so much experience and I have met so many amazing and incredible people and I have been able to visit so many projects.
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I know that the world is a bit more complex, but you can bring change in many ways.
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You don't have to be a politician to be a change maker.
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You can bring change in any role that you take in your society from becoming a doctor, engineer, business person, to a politician or to human rights activists.
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All of these opportunities gives us some ways in which we can contribute to the change that we want to see in the world.
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So I hope to continue my activism and ensure that we see that day when all girls can go to school.
28:51
>> And on the topic of change in many ways, there's this wave of young activists in the last few years.
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And it's very refreshing to see the younger generation standing up and having their voices heard.
29:05
Different activists, advocates have different styles in how they engage with the issues that they're tackling the community.
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How would you describe your style?
29:16
Where does that come from?
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What brings that out in you?
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>> I think for me, there are a few rules that I follow in my advocacy.
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One is that my voice and my words should reflect me and who I am and what my values are.
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And then along with that, it's also important for me, that whatever I say is the truth.
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So as long as you are speaking the truth, and as long as you are yourself, then that should be your form of advocacy.
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But I also think that we are all in different positions and in different places.
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And some of us want to work from the inside, some of us want to work from the outside.
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And I think, we all have a role to play, and we are all helping each other.
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So I do not underestimate or undermine the activism that other people are taking in different forms, I think it's incredibly powerful.
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And and all the activists should just realize that they're all on the same side.
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They're all on the same side and they must support each other because that helps them in achieving their goal.
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They have a lot more in common, and they must not lose focus on the issues that they want to address and the change that they want to bring.
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So in the education field or in other fields when there is activism happening, I appreciate the role of every person in there.
30:52
>> And speaking about different types of activism and different causes and so on, The Malala Fund in your vision is for girls education.
31:01
But there are so many other issues and justices reported in the media, some not even mentioned in the media happening all around the world.
31:11
Given your voice, your platform Olala, how do you think about when to speak up and when not to?
31:17
>> There are some issues that have impacted me, and that have been part of my story.
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And I think I should be speaking out about those issues.
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And that issue includes girls education, I speak out for girls right to education all over the world.
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But then I also speak out about what is happening like in parts of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Because we had also been part of that long decades, long terrorism, that the people have faced there.
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Whether it's the Pakistani Taliban, or Afghan Taliban, they have all They all carry the same ideology and the same acts and we all have been their victims.
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So I speak out about that as well.
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And I speak out about the issues that impact girls education, but there are other issues as well in which it connects to girls education and my mission but sometimes like I'm not the best person to speak out for that.
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There are so many other people who have expertise in that, and I ensure that the platform is there, and I support them.
32:25
So, there are many things which I do not speak out about, because I just want to ensure that my voice is for girls education and that is understood that this is my mission and this is what I will use my voice for. >> Yep.
32:44
You're traveling around the world.
32:46
You're used to be a student as well.
32:49
You're juggling a lot of different things.
32:51
We see you on TV and in the news very often, like how do you think about work life balance and just personal health, [LAUGH] his working life?
33:01
Is there even a blur or is there a balance there?
33:04
>> I would say it was very difficult when I was in school, because, I used to have homework like every day and I had to attend my classes from 8AM till 4PM in the UK.
33:17
So it was quite challenging and I remember one time I had a flight to Norway to attend some event.
33:23
And I think it was like over the weekend or something but I was arriving the next morning in the morning time.
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So I was like, I can't miss my school days, so I took my school uniform with me [LAUGH].
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And then on the way back, I went straight to my school, change into my uniform and then I was like, I can't go home. I would miss my classes. So, it was challenging.
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But it was important for me that I focus on my education.
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But also I give time to my activism for the education of all girls all around the world.
33:56
But I had to focus on my education because if you seek out for education and don't focus on yours, >> [LAUGH].
34:03
>> You are missing the point. >> [LAUGH].
34:08
>> Great, are there any other day to day activities mindfulness, is there anything you do on a daily basis that kind of helps you stay committed to that work life balance you mentioned?
34:21
>> I really like, staying in touch with my friends and talking to them.
34:25
I like spending time with people Could be like our family friends and my own school friends or university friends, and I like playing games as well as at one point it was among us, if anyone had played it. >> [LAUGH].
34:42
I think we are all like done with that right. >> [LAUGH]. >> We have moved on.
34:46
After that, I like playing cricket with my brothers and badminton.
34:54
And I watch TV shows as well.
34:57
I have seen squid game so, >> [LAUGH].
35:01
>> The first episode literally shocked me and I was like, >> [LAUGH].
35:04
>> What is happening but then after that I think you get used to it so, >> [LAUGH].
35:08
>> That was good and then in the middle I had to like stop I was like okay I need to switch to something else so I went to Ted last so and he made me like [LAUGH] laugh and just realize life is more positive and easy and yeah. >> [LAUGH].
35:28
>> I want to move on to there's a on to just perhaps, criticisms that you face.
35:34
And it's shocking to me personally, but given the work you're doing, the work you've done and what you've been through, there is no shortage of pushback.
35:46
Where does that come from?
35:48
Where is it bad out from that criticism?
35:52
>> I think firstly depends what the criticism is and if we clarify and explain that.
35:58
But if somebody says that, I should do this and not that and I haven't done enough for this or that and sometimes I have to remind people, I am not a government.
36:11
I don't have trillions of dollars and I don't have a central bank. >> [LAUGH].
36:16
>> And, I am not that person but my goal is to use my voice and the resources I have to convince governments to invest in education in women.
36:28
And ensure that the resources are allocated into the right areas that benefits our society, that empowers women and girls.
36:42
But my focus is always that I am working for girls around the world and the right to education.
36:48
So I feel like I'm only answerable to myself, and the people I have made commitment to ensure that we make a better world.
36:57
Other than that, people can say anything right.
37:00
And I think also in on social media, you see comments and things like that.
37:06
And you would see like 20 positive ones and just one negative one and then all our focus is on the negative one right.
37:13
We dismiss all the positive ones.
37:15
But I think it's important to remember that sometimes the social media world does not actually represent the real world that we live in.
37:25
And I will say that, so far I have not seen anyone in person who has been hateful to me, who has said anything negative.
37:35
They have always been supportive and even if they have been critical, they have done it in a very polite way.
37:44
So I don't worry too much about that.
37:46
>> That's great, specifically, maybe lasering in on Pakistan, you visited since the attack.
37:55
The pandemic has obviously made that more difficult.
37:57
What is your long-term kind of ambition with Pakistan and what you want to see there, and the role you want to play there?
38:06
I hope I can go to Pakistan more often, and I was planning to go already but then pandemic made things a bit more difficult.
38:14
We have been working in Pakistan, since we started Malala Fund.
38:20
Our first project started from Pakistan, and that was to announce this project which was the Education of 40 girls who were in domestic child labor.
38:29
So to give them education and they're still learning, they're still continuing their education.
38:34
They are in like higher grades now.
38:36
And since then, we have now done even, more and bigger projects since then.
38:43
We have started a school in the hometown of my parents Changla.
38:47
And Changla is considered to be one of the most deprived and areas in Pakistan.
38:54
It's a mountainous area, and this is the first school for girls there where girls can complete their secondary education.
39:02
And like every year we get hundreds and 1000s of applications.
39:08
And we can only pick a few students but what you realize is that when quality education is available, when the state of the art school is available and when parents feel safe for their children to go to school.
39:22
Then the social norms and, all that like stigma has been associated with education for girls changes really quickly, and we see so many families sending their daughters to school.
39:37
And so the positive chain has already been seen, and along with that we do our advocacy through to the champions project.
39:46
And in Pakistan we have many many champions and activists there who we are supporting in their world for girls secondary education What do you miss most about living in Pakistan?
39:57
>> I miss my home, I miss I miss Swat Valley and Shangri-La, those are very beautiful places.
40:03
And I miss my time with my friends.
40:06
Yeah, and the food as well of course, you know.
40:09
I live in the UK so [LAUGH] I always miss the food. >> [APPLAUSE] >> Got it.
40:20
So just before we move on to the audience questions, the mission and the vision Malala, that you've taken on, is vast. It's 130 million girls.
40:31
We hope it happens as fast as possible albeit to multiple years and it's fairly long term vision.
40:37
How do you stay motivated on a day to day basis, because in a business sense you can win a deal and kind of see very tangible success on a regular basis. This is more long term.
40:50
How do you stay motivated on a daily basis?
40:54
>> I think that inaction has worse consequences, things remain as they are, so keeping your work going is important.
41:05
So staying active is important for me, and I believe that the work that we have done and the work that, people in the past have done for women's rights and girls education in the in the work that all organizations and everyone is doing has brought us to the stage and has helped us see progress.
41:23
So this work needs to continue and we need to accelerate it and we need to make it better and we will see progress.
41:29
What's worse and what's, what I think is dangerous is us all giving up rights.
41:39
We should not give up, we should not stop this work. So we have to carry on.
41:44
>> Inaction as complicity, yes.
41:47
The theme for our View from the Top Speaker Series is beyond expectations, and we like to ask all our speakers, Malala, what motivates you as a 24-year-old girl from Swat, Pakistan, to grow beyond the expectations of a girl from Pakistan?
42:09
>> I am very ambitious and I was like that in my childhood as well, and I would always question society and the world and why it could not be better than it is.
42:26
Why do we see equality, inequality with our own eyes and don't do anything about it?
42:30
Why do we see that so many people live in extreme poverties?
42:35
Why can't we change that?
42:37
Why is it that millions of girls are out of school and nobody does anything about that?
42:43
So I end, but then on the other hand, I also remain ambitious, that we can change that, we can see that change in our own life.
42:52
And so this is something that I have taken with me from my childhood, is that you have to remain ambitious.
43:02
And, you have to be a bit more optimistic, so I remain optimistic and ambitious in my goals to see all girls in school in my lifetime, >> Inshallah. >> Inshallah.
43:16
>> Great, let's open it up to audience questions. I believe we have one.
43:27
>> Hi Mahala, my name is Talia Han and I'm an MBA one here.
43:30
As a fellow Pakistani woman it is incredibly inspiring to see you here.
43:34
Thank you so much for coming here.
43:35
My question is as someone who has personally navigated the challenges of a patriarchal society, I know there are millions of girls and women back home who personally faced restrictions, whether it's access to education, whether it's professional opportunities, or even simply to have an independent opinion of themselves.
43:54
On a more personal basis, what is your advice to them in terms of keeping hope alive for a more freer future?
44:01
What was the thing for you that allowed you to continue staying so resilient in your difficult times?
44:07
>> Thank you for that question. So I'll share one story.
44:11
When I started speaking out in my activism, I was only ten years old, but then as I was growing older and I was at age 13 and 14, and especially in our society in the north of Pakistan, it could become a taboo for a girl to be on a TV screen and speak out to media publicly, not cover her face, and some families may completely oppose that.
44:39
And I remember like one time, my dad asked my cousin to take me to this press conference area and my cousin just felt extremely uncomfortable, and then he told my dad that Malala should not speak and my dad told him that this was none of his business.
44:57
He should not be deciding anything for his daughter, and that everything that Malala does should be her own choice.
45:03
So, but today, that same cousin is the biggest supporter of my cause, and he's actually involved in in the work, and he is so passionate about girls education, and he supports me in my work.
45:18
So initially, you would see this unease among people.
45:27
You might even hear hateful comments, or you might hear people feeling just very uncomfortable to see women in different roles and in different positions, and women having a loud voice, and women being at the table, but with time they'll get used to it.
45:45
And in a few years like before we know it, things have already changed and things already become like customs and new norms.
45:53
So it's important for us to remain ambitious and committed, and it's, consistency is really important, so we have to stick to it and ensure that we carry this work on and hopefully things will change.
46:08
We're already seeing so much progress in Pakistan, we have women in the parliament and we have women in different jobs and in different sectors and hopefully it will get better, it will improve.
46:20
And a lot of women are speaking out about women's safety at work and in other spaces, and speaking out against harassment, and sexual harassment, so there is this campaign going on for Women's Equality in Pakistan and that gives us hope. >> Next question. Here.
46:44
>> Hi Malala, I'm Bruno, an MBA one here from Stanford GSB.
46:48
So first of all, I would like to thank you for sharing your thoughts, your brave story.
46:54
Definitely motivate us to make the world a better place.
46:57
Well, I'm from developing country in Latin America where education is not a right, is a privilege, and I feel very privileged to be here at Stanford.
47:07
As I know many boys and girls, they didn't have an opportunity to go to a proper elementary school.
47:12
You might heard my country, that is Brazil.
47:14
So I'd like to ask you, what are your thoughts about our role as students from top universities like Stanford, Oxford, to minimize the gap between basic education across the countries?
47:27
>> Thank you for that question.
47:28
I think you are all the future of this world, you're all the future of your countries and I would say that remain ambitious about your goals and you can bring change in your countries, you can bring change in your communities.
47:45
And you already might be a role model to so many young kids who may not have thought about themselves.
47:53
Completing their school going to university and taking a role in society.
47:58
So, you are already giving hope to so many people, so many women, especially here who could be coming from developing countries or from difficult backgrounds.
48:08
They're giving hope to so many women and girls and when a child sees somebody else in their dress, in their outfit.
48:17
And when they see somebody who looks like them, they can imagine themselves in that person's role.
48:25
So, you are already giving hope to so many.
48:27
>> You've got a question? >> Yeah, hi, Malala.
48:33
So my name is [INAUDIBLE], I'm an MBA two, and you may not remember this, but we met a long, long time ago.
48:41
>> [LAUGH] >> Do you remember?
48:42
>> [LAUGH] >> So, in all fairness reason, the reason she won't remember is because she'd suffered a very bad infection and she was in ICU after having just been shot in the head.
48:56
The reason I remember is because I was your doctor at the time and I've followed your journey ever since the difficulties you've had integrating new cultures followed you through your new school and Edgbaston High.
49:09
I tried to be part of a lot of fun when I was at McKinsey as well.
49:12
I thought was a natural fit, but I come from a family of strong feminists and I've benefited from that as well.
49:20
But I have seen a massive conflict in tradition versus progression and culture.
49:29
And I know we've asked a similar question, but now that you've lived, you've had the Pakistan experience, you've had the westernized experience.
49:35
What do you think you can take from the experiences you've had in the western world?
49:41
And how do we take them back to areas where they could benefit?
49:48
>> Thank you for that question, and you thank you for all your support, and nice to see you again.
49:53
>> [LAUGH] >> When I started living in the UK there were so many things that surprised us we were living in cold weather forever and we were missing our nice warm summer days in Pakistan but other than that, I started studying in a school where we were getting quality education.
50:18
That was the first time when I realized that education is not just about sciences and maths and learning English, but students also learn cooking and sports and textiles and these are not the subjects that you often see in schools in Pakistan.
50:34
And it really challenges you to think about education in different ways in which the goal is not to make somebody a doctor or engineer only.
50:45
But to ensure that anyone can go to that institution, they can explore their their abilities and they can explore their specialties, and then realize and reach their full potential.
50:59
So, when I was studying in the UK I realized that education is not just limited to sciences and maths and those subjects.
51:11
But then also along with that there's a good health system and you are much safer.
51:19
But your home is your home and you miss so many things about your home.
51:26
When you are with your friends and family and you are sitting in your sort of dining room with your family friends and you are enjoying nice food and you are surrounded by this beautiful valley in these lush green hills.
51:48
You're happy and you're still having like a joyful time.
51:52
So, I think for us even though we were having all those facilities we would still miss Pakistan all the time.
52:00
And I have seen this in many places people consider the west to be sort of the standard of prosperity and development and I think we need to sort of challenge that a bit.
52:15
Because the pandemic and the recent events have exposed how the systems in many countries are not the ideal systems.
52:22
They are still not favoring the most marginalized people in society, they are discriminating against people based on their income background, based on their skin color, based on their gender.
52:35
So, we need to be a bit more critical of the system that we idolize and it's possible for Pakistan and other countries to improve their systems.
52:44
And this is a challenge for countries all over the world to improve their systems, to ensure that they provide welfare to all its citizens and it's based on adjust an equal system, so nobody is left out and nobody is treated unfairly.
53:03
>> Great, thank you for those questions.
53:05
Before we add Malala, we left to another lightning round.
53:09
So, I'll share a phrase and just give me your quick thoughts on those. >> [LAUGH]. >> Ready? >> Yes. >> Yes, okay, perfect. This one should be easy. >> Okay. >> Or squid games.
53:27
>> So, is that Apple TV over Netflix or I mean.
53:30
>> I'm partnering with Apple to be.
53:33
>> [APPLAUSE] >> The right answer.
53:37
>> Yeah, by the way, I started a production company extracurricular just for the context.
53:43
And we're partnering with Apple TV plus, so, yeah, it has to be a dead last.
53:47
>> [LAUGH] >> Favorite queer eye actor.
53:55
>> I don't have any names, I'm so bad at names. >> Okay.
53:58
>> You can suggest and I can pick one.
54:00
>> Jonathan Van Ness but no. >> No, I'm bad at this. >> No worries.
54:06
>> The only name I usually like when you talk about actors and actresses I know all the Bollywood ones.
54:12
>> [LAUGH] >> And then I know Brad Pitt and >> [LAUGH] >> Leonardo DiCaprio and that said [LAUGH].
54:21
>> How about this one or world Federer who you have not met but want to. >> A world Federer.
54:35
So, it's not a politician.
54:41
It's not a politician, but I really want to meet Vanessa Nekate, she's a climate activist and I have been following her journey and I would want to see her in person. >> Right.
54:55
Favorite social media platform.
54:59
>> I mean, it has to be Instagram.
55:00
>> [LAUGH] >> Ignore, I think it's Twitter, it's hard to pick but it's between those two.
55:09
Sometimes it's Twitter I mean, when anything happens you want to go to Twitter right just just see tweets on it and then Instagram is also good.
55:19
But yeah, whenever I'm following cricket, I just go straight to Twitter and just see what people have have said. It's very funny. >> Same yeah.
55:29
Where do you store your Nobel Peace Prize?
55:31
>> [LAUGH] >> That's confidential, you'll never know. [LAUGH] >> Okay, great.
55:38
And then last one favorite Adele song. I'll Say hello. >> Awesome.
55:48
Well, this has been a lot of fun for me personally and for you as well and we appreciate your time.
55:53
>> [LAUGH] >> Thank you so much. Thank you. >> Absolutely, and.
56:00
>> [APPLAUSE] >> Thank you. >> Thank you. >> Thank you so much.
56:06
Thank you, so nice to see you. Thank you. [MUSIC]