Defiant Malala a symbol of women's fight for justice

Less than a year ago the Pakistani schoolgirl was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman for speaking out against the oppression of young girls in her country who were being denied an education.

If she had died on that bus last October, when a bullet narrowly missed her brain, she would have become a martyr.

But as she took the stage at the UN Headquarters in New York on her 16th birthday, she was an even greater threat to the oppressive patriarchal order of her homeland.

''The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions,'' she said.

''But nothing changed in my life except this - weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.''

Standing beside Malala as she handed over petitions with more than 4 million signatures to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon was 22-year-old Australian Hayley McQuire. The indigenous activist, who was seated beside Malala at the front of the Youth Assembly, is the Australian representative of the Youth Advocacy Group.

''Hello, my name is Hayley McQuire and I am an indigenous person of the Darumbal people from Australia,'' she said, introducing herself to her peers and people watching live broadcasts around the world. ''Education has transformed my life. I believe education will transform the lives of indigenous young people around the world and I believe that education will transform the world,'' she said.

Before travelling to New York last week she said she was thrilled to be meeting the young woman whose story had resonated with her.

''She has the vision of the wider picture and, even though she was personally in danger, she saw the need to advocate for the rights of all girls,'' Ms McQuire said. ''She can see the power of her voice way beyond herself .''

At last count, 57 million of the world's primary school-aged children were out of school. And more than 120 million people between the ages of 15 and 24, the majority of whom are women and girls, lacked basic reading and writing skills.

Women's rights activist and the Australian director of the Global Poverty Project, Samah Hadid, said Malala's story has shed light on the millions of children and young people in the developing world who are denied an education, particularly girls who often face significant social and cultural barriers. ''It's things like child marriage, gender-based discrimination and the lack of prioritisation of gender equality when it comes to domestic policies,'' she said.

The Taliban are threatened not merely by Malala herself but by what she represents, she said.

''She's a symbol of a young woman standing up against injustice and mobilising so many around the world to stand up for education and for women's empowerment. That is the most dangerous tool against the Taliban at the moment.''

"Empowerment of women poses a threat to patriarchal societies, such as Pakistan, which base their power on males monopolising institutions."

It is doubtful the Millennium Development Goal of having all children in primary school by 2015 will be reached. But Ms Hadid said we are on our way to making a dent in the enormous task.

''I am optimistic about where we're headed as an international community in terms of investing in education.'' But the fight is not nearly over, she said.

A new report by aid agency Save the Children released on Friday found an alarming increase in the number of reported attacks on education, with more than 3600 incidents recorded in 2012.

Last month 14 female students were killed in the Pakistani city of Quetta when a bomb exploded on their bus, and while there are still about 4 million children out of school in Afghanistan, the country is, in many respects, an example of how significant progress can be made.

Johanna Cunningham, who works for UNICEF as a child protection worker in Afghanistan, said when the Taliban fell in 2001 about 900,000 Afghan children were at school and almost none were girls. Now, about 8.3 million children have access to education and 39 per cent of them are girls.

''The sight of hundreds of little girls in their matching blue coats and white headscarves pouring happily and loudly out of school gates is joyful.''