This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
The stage was set to celebrate the power of women at the Constitution Center on Tuesday night as the Liberty Medal was presented to the world’s most famous schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai.
The 17-year-old Pakistani, whose outspoken defense of girls’ right to an education led to her being shot by the Taliban — and then becoming a world-famous human rights activist — accepted the award under a tent set up on the Constitution Center’s lawn.
"I think the Taliban commited a mistake when they shot me," she said, to laughter. "They made a big mistake because nothing changed in my life — [except] weakness, fear, and hopelessness died, and strength, courage, and power was born."
She is the youngest recipient of the medal, as well as the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. She said she would give the $100,000 prize to her foundation to promote the education of girls in Pakistan.
Many schools brought busloads of students, overwhelmingly female, to witness and bask in the event. In her speech, Malala said that she had invited "the children of Philadelphia" and thanked them for coming.
On the podium were many women, from University of Pennsylvania president Amy Gutmann to Olivia Nutter, daughter of the mayor.
And five young women read excerpts from Malala’s blog, which she wrote anonymously starting at age 11, detailing the hopes, fears, and dangers around getting an education in the Swat Valley where she lived. It was that blog that first brought her international attention, and then the wrath of the Taliban.
Among the readers at the ceremony were Nikki Adeli of Science Leadership Academy, Niayla Dia-Murray of Constitution High School, and Mo’ne Davis, who made some history of her own as the first female to pitch a shutout at the Little League World Series.
Colleen McBride, senior class president at Mount Saint Joseph Academy and Melissa Shang, a 6th grader at Tredyffrin Easttown Middle School, also read.
Among the excited young people in the audience were seven 5th graders from the Delaware Valley Elementary School in Milford, Pennsylvania, three hours away in the Poconos. The girls, wearing red shirts, brought their video camera to interview and record the event for the TV news show they produce every morning.
The seven were chosen, said instructional assistant Chris Gawel, because they were the ones most interested in Malala. "We survey the students, and these girls have a passion about history and education," Gawel said.
"I knew she was an inspiration for many girls and for the world," said Helena Stefaniak, who is 10. "I read her book and how terrible her life was and I really wanted to meet her and ask her questions if I did."
Said Nuria Bary, also 10: "I think Malala is a hero to everyone."
The Pennsylvania Girlchoir sang "Brave" from the Disney movie as the words of famous women flashed on the screen — from 18th-century black poet Phillis Wheatley to pioneering journalist Nellie Bly to suffragist Alice Paul to civil rights heroine Rosa Parks to modern feminist and Congress member Bella Abzug.
Megan Anger, a senior at Central High, got permission from her Spanish teacher to leave class and go online to secure general admission tickets to the Liberty Medal presentation as soon as they became available one morning in September. She knew they would all go in minutes, and they did.
She and sister Kelly, who live in Roxborough, dressed (by coincidence, they said) almost identically in stylish orange dresses and light sweaters.
"I’ve been looking forward to this for months," said Megan, 17, a senior, as they waited for their mother, a teacher at Saul High School, to pick them up. "In college, I want to do global and South Asian studies and go to India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. [Malala] is my hero and role model."
Kelly added, "It was so powerful to see that even though she is so young, she can change the world with her words."
The sisters were eager to make a connection between what Malala was saying — that governments should spend money on education, not on the tools of violence and warfare — and what is happening in the Philadelphia schools now.
They had participated in the rally in front of the School Reform Commission last Thursday protesting the decision to nullify the teachers’ contract, all fallout from the underfunding of the city’s schools. Teachers and others point to the stark educational inequality between what is available to students in Philadelphia and offerings in surrounding areas.
At Central, said Kelly, a freshman, conditions got worse this year; many of her classmates still lack a qualified Spanish teacher as a result of the cuts.
"They have a different substitute every week and have to work harder to keep up," she said.
Malala ended her speech by chiding those in power. "A country doesn’t become powerful because it has atom bombs and weapons and soldiers," she said. "A country becomes powerful when its people are educated, its future generation is educated."
"History is not sent from the sky," she said. "It is we who make history. It is we who become the history. … We bring change by becoming the change. Let us not forget that one book, one child, one pen, one teacher can change the world."