“It really strengthens and encourages me to see people everyday standing with me,” said 19-year-old Malala Yousafzai.
She was shot by the Taliban for standing up for what she believes in and the youngest Noble Peace Prize winner and on Monday, 19-year-old Malala Yousafzai came to Omaha.
Before Malala shared her inspiring story at the Girls Inc. luncheon, a Muslim girl from Omaha wowed the crowd with her words.
“How many chapters are in the Quran? 114. But how people did Islam tell you to kill? Zero,” said Girls Inc. participant Amina.
Seventeen-year-old Amina says Malala inspired her to write the poem about her personal struggle with being a Muslim girl in America.
“Muslims are not terrorists and terrorists are not Muslims,” said Amina.
“She stood up for girls and what she believed in, so I thought well maybe I could do that through poetry,” said Amina.
Girls Inc. Executive Director Roberta Wilhelm says they’ve wanted to bring Malala to Omaha for years.
“She is an advocate for the education of girls and that's what we are all about. She speaks out for the rights of girls to express themselves and to speak up and to have a voice and that is completely Girls Inc.,” said Wilhelm.
Malala's obstacle to education was the Taliban in Pakistan. Wilhelm says even though girls don't have that problem here, they face many other obstacles and Malala inspires them to keep fighting.
“The most important thing in which we should all invest in is education. There is no loss, there is always a profit. There is always a good bright future with education,” said Malala.
