Malala says Taliban used bullets to silence her, but failed

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who drew global attention after being shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education, has told the United Nationsshe has the strength and courage to continue her campaign despite her ordeal.

• Malala's 10 most inspiring quotes from her UN speech

The teenager was honoured at the UN headquarters in New York City on Friday, where sheaddressed the UN Youth Assembly with a speech advocating global education.

"Here I stand, just one girl among many. I speakso thosewithout voice can be heard," she told the UN audience, adding everyone has the "right to live in peace and to be treated with dignity."

She recalled the day she was shot on a school bus on Oct. 9, 2012.

"They shot my friends, too. They thought that the bullets would silence us, but they failed, and out of that silence came thousands of voices."

The teen also said she will not be stopped from speaking out in support of human rights.

"The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions, but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear and hopelessness died. Strength, power and courage was born.

"I'm not against anyone. Neither am I here to speak in terms of personal revenge against the Taliban or any other terrorist group. I'm here to speak for the right of education for every child," she said.

Malalasaidthe Taliban and other extremist groups are motivated by fear of equality and the power of educationwhen they attack students, teachers andschools.

The teen appeared at the United Nationsalongside former British prime minister Gordon Brown now the UN special envoy for global education. Browndelivered a petitiondemanding education for all.

• Pakistani girl shot by Taliban released from U.K. hospital

Yousafzai has become an international figure as a symbol of resistance to the Talibans efforts to deny women's rights. She is also among the nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

The UN has designated July 12 as Malala Day.

Yousafzai was brought to Britain from Pakistans Swat Valley for specialist treatment after she was shot in the head at point-blank range by a gunman last October.

She left a hospital in Birmingham in February following a surgery in which doctors mended parts of her skull with a titanium plate and inserted a cochlear implant to help restore hearing on her left side.

Some 500 youth leaders from 85 countries will be on hand in New York to hear Yousafzai speak. This was her first public speech sincethe attack.

Her speech was delivered amid the release of newUNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) research showing48.5 million childrenof primary school ageand living in areas of armed conflict are not getting an education.

According to the report by UNESCO and the Save the Children aid agency, the total number of children of primary school age who are not getting an education has fallen from 60 million in 2008 to 57 million in 2011, butduring that period the percentage of youth in conflict-affected countries who arent at primary school rose from 42 per cent to 50 per cent.

In Syria,about 3,900 schools have either been destroyed, damaged or are occupied for non-educational purposes, the reportreleased on Friday said.

The reportsaysmore than a fifth of Syrian schools have been made unusable since the conflict began in March 2011.