They thought a bullet would silence us but they failed. Out of the silence came a voice： weakness， fear and hopelessness died； strength， power and courage were born.”

Malala Yousafzai has become the voice of girls throughout the world. She is the epitome of the change that is sweeping nation after nation today. Only a few years ago we would likely never have heard her story. When the cowardly Taliban1） shot her in the head on October 9， 2012， for daring to go to school and speak up for girls’ education， it wouldn’t have been surprising if the people living in the Swat Valley2） dismissed3） the news： “so what—she’s a girl.” Elsewhere， had we heard the story， we would have tut-tutted4） and said， “How dreadful but it’s the way they treat their girls. There’s nothing we can do.”

Instead， Malala’s story made every newspaper in the world and every radio and television broadcast； people stayed tuned as news spread about where she was being treated and when she was being transferred first to Islamabad and then to London， England. In February we saw all the details of the cranial5） reconstruction surgery and the cochlear6） implant the doctors would use to restore some of her hearing. I was in Victoria， B.C. when I had a call from a news agency—“Hurry，” they said， “We need a news hit—Malala just got out of the hospital.” Then in early March—she was in the news again. Sporting7） a little pink backpack， Malala was returning to school.

She had become the world’s daughter. It was as though the citizens of Asia， Africa， Europe and the Americas had lifted a curtain and suddenly saw the extraordinary stupidity of refusing to educate girls and the consequences of kowtowing8） to the extremists who claim they are acting in the name of God when they shoot 15-year-old girls in the head for their wanting to learn to read. Ban Ki Moon， Secretary General of the United Nations， said， “When the Taliban shot Malala， they showed what they fear most： a girl with a book.” The economists have been claiming that educated girls can turn the economy of the village around. But more than that， the girls on the ground have found their voices—so have their mothers. In Afghanistan， the women refer to their illiteracy as being blind. One woman explained the seemingly bizarre connection： “I couldn’t read， so I couldn’t see what was going on.” The thugs9） in power have used that ploy10） for centuries—keep the people ignorant so they can’t see what’s going on.

Malala can see. She has that elusive11） “it12）” factor—the one that combines strength and sweetness， resolve with vision. She wore the late Benazir Bhutto13）’s scarf and brilliantly combined the Prophet Mohammed with Jesus Christ， Martin Luther King， Nelson Mandela and Ghandi when she spoke in her straight forward， from-the-heart style at the UN.

When Malala stood up on July 12 and said， “There was a time when women asked men to stand up for women’s rights. This time we’ll do it for ourselves，” she put the world on alert. Her army of activists was already at work in Kabul14） where Young Women for Change is aiming to “alter the emotional landscape of Afghanistan.” They claim that 67 per cent of the population of Afghanistan is under the age of 30. “We never started a war，” says co-founder Anita Haidery. “We never fought a war. We hate these old customs. We want change and we have the tools to make change—Facebook and Twitter.” And in Kenya 160 girls between the ages of three and 17 sued their government for failing to protect them from being raped and won the case. They won it for 15 million girls in Kenya. There are laws that criminalize rape in Kenya， but men have almost total impunity. The journey these kids took together was about girls who dared to bust15） the taboo on speaking out about sexual assault. It was about kids who were told they had no rights but insisted that they do. And it was the push-back reaction every woman and girl in the world has been waiting for.

It’s not just the new-found leaders like Malala who are driving change. The foot soldiers16） in this war against oppressors of women and girls are also marching. In India when Jyoti Singh Pandey17） was raped to death by a bunch of hooligans in a bus， a curtain was also raised. Her legacy is that the brutal story ripped the lid off 50 years of secrecy about the status of women in India. As it turns out the fastest growing democracy in the world and the hottest economy needs to change the way it treats 50 per cent of its population. Now the women of India are on the street， demanding change. And the world is watching from a different lens.

“Thousands have been killed by the terrorists and millions have been injured. I’m just one of them，” said Malala. “Here I stand， one girl among many. I speak not for myself but so that those without a voice can be heard. One child， one teacher， one book and one pen can change the world.”

Like a modern day Joan of Arc18）， this now 16-year-old kid recovering from a bullet wound to the head got the attention of the world. She has the platform， and the world is listening. It’s Malala Day.

他們以為一枚子彈會讓我們沉默，但他們沒能得逞。于無聲處傳來一個聲音：軟弱、恐懼和絕望不復(fù)存在；力量、動力和勇氣已經(jīng)誕生?！?/p>

馬拉拉·尤薩夫扎伊已經(jīng)成為世界各地女孩的代言人。她是如今正在席卷一個又一個國家的變革浪潮的象征。就在幾年前，我們可能永遠不會聽說她的故事。2012年10月9日，卑怯的塔利班分子向她的頭部開槍，因為她竟敢去上學(xué)，并公開倡導(dǎo)女孩接受教育。那個時候，如果生活在斯瓦特山谷的人們沒把這條新聞當(dāng)回事兒，說什么“那又怎么樣，她是個女孩”，那也不算什么令人驚奇的事。在其他地方，如果我們聽到了這個故事，我們可能只會咂兩下舌頭，說：“多可怕啊，但他們就是這么對待他們那兒的女孩的。我們也做不了什么?！?/p>

但這次，馬拉拉的故事出現(xiàn)在全世界的每一家報紙、每一個電臺和每一檔電視節(jié)目上。人們持續(xù)關(guān)注著相關(guān)報道：她在哪里接受治療，她何時先轉(zhuǎn)院到伊斯蘭堡，而后又轉(zhuǎn)到英國倫敦的醫(yī)院。今年2月，我們看到了馬拉拉的顱骨重建手術(shù)和耳蝸移植手術(shù)的全部細節(jié)，醫(yī)生將通過后者來恢復(fù)她的部分聽力。當(dāng)時，我正在不列顛哥倫比亞省的維多利亞市，忽然接到了一家通訊社的電話。“趕快，”他們說，“我們需要一個熱門新聞，馬拉拉剛剛出院?！比缓螅?月初，她又出現(xiàn)在新聞中。馬拉拉背著一個惹眼的粉色小背包，重返校園。

她成了全世界的女兒。仿佛亞洲、非洲、歐洲和美洲的公民揭開了一道幕布，突然發(fā)現(xiàn)了不讓女孩接受教育的極端愚蠢性和屈從于極端分子的下場。這些極端分子聲稱，當(dāng)他們因那些15歲的女孩想學(xué)識字而朝她們的頭部開槍時，他們是在以真主的名義行事。聯(lián)合國秘書長潘基文說：“當(dāng)塔利班分子向馬拉拉開槍時，他們就表明了自己最懼怕的是什么：一個手拿書本的女孩。”經(jīng)濟學(xué)家們一直聲稱受過教育的女孩能夠扭轉(zhuǎn)該村莊（編注：指斯瓦特山谷地區(qū)）的經(jīng)濟狀況。而比這更重要的是，那里的女孩已經(jīng)發(fā)出自己的聲音，她們的母親也同樣如此。在阿富汗，女性將她們無法讀寫的狀態(tài)比作失明。一名女性對這種看似奇怪的關(guān)聯(lián)做出了解釋：“我不識字，因而無法看明白正在發(fā)生的一切。”千百年來，掌權(quán)的暴徒一直使用這一伎倆——讓人們處于愚昧無知的狀態(tài)，這樣他們就看不明白發(fā)生了什么。

馬拉拉看得明白。她擁有那種讓人難以名狀的特質(zhì)——力量與甜美并存，決心與遠見兼具。當(dāng)她在聯(lián)合國以她那坦率、懇切的風(fēng)格發(fā)表演講時，她巧妙地將先知穆罕默德與耶穌基督、馬丁·路德·金、尼爾森·曼德拉以及甘地聯(lián)系在一起。當(dāng)時，她還圍著已故總理貝娜齊爾·布托的圍巾。

7月12日，馬拉拉站在那兒說：“曾有一段時期，女性請求男性來維護女性的權(quán)利。這一次，我們將自己維護自己的權(quán)利。”她的話讓全世界開始保持警覺。她創(chuàng)建的一支積極分子大軍已經(jīng)在喀布爾開展工作，那里的“尋求變革的年輕女性”組織正致力于“改變阿富汗的情感狀況”。該組織聲稱，阿富汗67%的人口都在30歲以下?！拔覀儚奈窗l(fā)動過戰(zhàn)爭，”該組織的創(chuàng)始人之一安妮塔·海德瑞說，“我們從未打過仗。我們痛恨這些舊習(xí)俗。我們想要變革，而且我們有實現(xiàn)變革的工具——Facebook和推特?！痹诳夏醽啠?60名年齡在3～17歲之間的女孩起訴了她們的政府，指控其未能保護她們免遭強奸，并贏得了訴訟。她們?yōu)榭夏醽喌?500萬女孩贏得了這場官司。盡管肯尼亞的法律將強奸判為犯罪行為，但男性幾乎完全不會受到懲罰。而這些孩子共同走過的這段旅程是關(guān)于女孩敢于打破禁忌、談?wù)撔郧址傅穆贸?，是關(guān)于被告知無權(quán)利可言的孩子們堅持自己有權(quán)利的旅程。這是一種回擊式的反應(yīng)，是全世界每一個婦女和女孩一直都在期待的反應(yīng)。

正在推動變革的不僅僅有馬拉拉這樣的新生領(lǐng)袖，在這場反對壓迫婦女和女孩的斗爭中，一些無名戰(zhàn)士也在向前行進。在印度，當(dāng)喬蒂·辛格·潘迪在公交車上遭一伙流氓強奸致死后，另一道幕布也被拉開。潘迪所產(chǎn)生的影響在于這一殘酷事件揭開了一個被掩蓋了50年的秘密，揭開了印度女性地位的真相。事實證明，這個世界上發(fā)展最快的民主國家和最熱的經(jīng)濟體需要改變其對待自己50%的人口的方式。現(xiàn)在，印度女性走上了街頭，要求變革。而全世界正透過一個不同的鏡頭在關(guān)注著。

“成千上萬的人被恐怖分子殺害，數(shù)百萬人受傷，我只是其中的一員，”馬拉拉說，“我站在這里，只是代表很多女孩中的一個。我不是為我自己發(fā)言，而是為了讓人們能關(guān)注到那些沒能發(fā)出聲音的人。一個孩子、一位老師、一本書和一支筆就能改變世界?！?/p>

這個現(xiàn)年16歲、正在從頭部槍傷中恢復(fù)的孩子就像是現(xiàn)代版的圣女貞德，獲得了全世界的關(guān)注。她獲得了一個平臺，全世界都在聆聽。這一天是“馬拉拉日”。

1.Taliban：塔利班（穆斯林原教旨主義武裝組織，曾控制阿富汗，占領(lǐng)其首都喀布爾并建立伊斯蘭政權(quán)，后被美國推翻。）

2.Swat Valley：斯瓦特山谷，塔利班武裝分子活躍的地區(qū)，位于巴基斯坦西北部。

3.dismiss [d?s?m?s] vt. （從頭腦中）去除；不再考慮

4.tut-tut [?t?t?t?t] vi. （表示不贊成、指責(zé)、輕蔑等）咂（嘴、舌等）

5.cranial [?kre?ni?l] adj. [解]顱的；顱側(cè)的

6.cochlear [?kɑ?kl??（r）] adj. 耳蝸的

7.sport [sp??（r）t] vt. 惹人注目地穿戴

8.kowtow [?kɑ??tɑ?] vi. 卑躬屈膝

9.thug [θ?ɡ] n. 惡棍，暴徒

10.ploy [pl??] n.〈口〉（在比賽、談話等場合用以制勝的）計策，手段

11.elusive [??lu?s?v] adj. 難以表述（或理解、分辨、捉摸）的

12.it [?t] pron. （做某事所需要的）能力或特質(zhì)

13.Benazir Bhutto：貝娜齊爾·布托（1953～2007），常簡譯為貝·布托，巴基斯坦前總理，2007年在一次競選集會上因遭遇自殺式襲擊身亡。

14.Kabul：喀布爾，阿富汗首都，塔利班自1996年起占領(lǐng)喀布爾并強迫實行伊斯蘭教原教旨主義統(tǒng)治。

15.bust [b?st] vt. 打破

16.foot soldier：（在某領(lǐng)域中）起重要作用的小人物

17.Jyoti Singh Pandey：喬蒂·辛格·潘迪，2012年印度“黑公交”輪奸案的受害者。喬蒂是印度德里大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)系的一名女大學(xué)生。2012年12月16日晚上，喬蒂和男友在看完電影后搭乘一輛“黑公交”回家，途中慘遭一伙流氓輪奸，終因傷勢過重于29日去世，年僅23歲。這一事件震驚了印度全國，掀起了大規(guī)模的示威游行，也引起了國際社會的極大關(guān)注。

18.Joan of Arc：圣女貞德（1412～1431），法國民族英雄，百年戰(zhàn)爭時率軍解除英軍對奧爾良城的圍困，后被俘，最終被處以火刑。