For my brothers it was easy to think about the future. They can be anything they want. But for me it was hard and for that reason I wanted to become educated and empower myself with knowledge.

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

When someone takes away your pens you realise quite how important education is.

This is what my soul is telling me: Be peaceful and love everyone.

Books can capture injustices in a way that stays with you and makes you want to do something about them. That's why they are so powerful.

Islam tells us every girl and boy should be educated. I don't know why the Taliban have forgotten it.

In countries other than Pakistan -- I won't necessarily call them 'Western' -- people support me. This is because people there respect others. They don't do this because I am a Pashtun or a Punjabi, a Pakistani, or an Iranian, they do it because of one's words and character. This is why I am being respected and supported there.

She explained that the bullet had entered through the side of my left eye where there was a scar, traveled eighteen inches down to my left shoulder and stopped there. It could have taken out my eye or gone into my brain. It was a miracle I was alive.

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

Yet my father remained hopeful and believed there would be a day when there was an end to the destruction. What really depressed him was the looting of the destroyed schools -- the furniture, the books, the computers, were all stolen by local people. He cried when he heard this.

Honor your daughters. They are honorable.

Let us remember: One book, one pen, one child, and one teacher can change the world.

When the whole world is silent, even one voice becomes powerful.

I like writers who can show me worlds I know nothing about, but my favorites are those who create characters or worlds which feel realistic and familiar to me, or who can make me feel inspired.

We liked to be known as the clever girls. When we decorated our hands with henna for holidays and weddings, we drew calculus and chemical formulae instead of flowers and butterflies.

I don't want awards, I want my daughter. I wouldn't exchange a single eyelash of my daughter for the whole world.

Let us become the first generation to decide to be the last that sees empty classrooms, lost childhoods and wasted potential.

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

What I get a bit angry about is the image of women.

But God has also given us the power to forget, so that when the tragedy is over we carry on as normal.