Malala Yousafzai 'Daily Show' Video Giving Testimony on Taliban Shooting Goes Viral (VIDEO)
Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee, wowed a television audience earlier this week when she was asked how she would respond to the Taliban members who, last October, shot her in the head and neck as she was traveling from school.
Yousafzai was a guest on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" when she was asked how she would respond if she was attacked by the Taliban again. She was previously shot in the head in October 2012 after advocating the importance of female education in a BBC blog.
The brave young advocate told Stewart that although her initial reaction would be to fight back with force, such as hit the Taliban member with a shoe, she would ultimately choose to react peacefully so as to not repeat the cruel behavior inflicted upon her.
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"If you hit a Talib, then there would be no difference between you and the Talib," she told Stewart on the Tuesday airing of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show." "You must not treat others with cruelty […] you must fight others through peace and through dialogue and through education."
"I would tell him how important education is and that I would even want education for your children as well," the Pakistani girl added. "That's what I want to tell you, now do what you want."
Yousafzai's comments left Stewart speechless, and after several seconds of silence, Stewart jokingly asked the girl if he could adopt her.
"I know your father is backstage and he is very proud of you, but would he be mad if I adopted you?" Stewart questioned to a response of laughter and applause from the audience.
The video of Yousafzai's "The Daily Show" interview has since gone viral on the internet, gaining close to 1 million views in three days. The brave young advocate was one of the lead nominees expected to win the Nobel Peace Prize, although it was announced Friday that the prize committee had given the award to the "Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons," a weapons watchdog group.
After being shot in October 2012, Yousafzai endured multiple surgeries, first to have the bullets removed and later to reconstruct her skull. Her final surgery was in January 2013 in Great Britain when she had her hearing restored and her skull reconstructed.
Instead of discontinuing her active role as a proponent for female education following the Taliban attack, Yousafzai became even more vocal, including speaking at the United Nations on July 12 to call for worldwide access to education. The day was subsequently dubbed "Malala Day."
