Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' right to education, stunned the world once again when she gave a powerful speech at the premiere of Fox Searchlight's documentary "He Named Me Malala" at New York's Ziegfeld Theatre on Sept. 24, Thursday.
The teenager arrived at the event with her iconic father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, and a delegation of girl leaders from developing nations. Unfazed by the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the 18-year-old called out the world leaders to "dream big."
"Be a child for a moment and dream big as you can," Variety quoted Malala as saying during her speech at the premiere before adding that her dream is that every kid in the world gets a quality 12-year free education.
The documentary, made by Davis Guggenheim of "An Inconvenient Truth" fame, is a candid look inside the life of youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate. The upcoming movie not only chronicles her life turning events like being awarded the Peace Prize and speaking at the United Nations, but also gives an insight into her ordinary days spent at school and at home with her brothers.
Guggenheim had spent two years of his life with the young world leader to create the documentary and is evidently inspired by her.
"When you believe, you can do anything and that's a great message for the world," gushed the 51-year-old director.
Malala became became a public figure when she was reported to be shot in her head after being propagating the girls equality rights in her native Swat valley in Pakistan. She was airlifted and brought to England where she underwent a long treatment that included learning how to catch a ball again and recovering her power of speech.
The teenager has lost her hearing in her left ear and has impaired motor control on the left side of her face, Reuters reported. She now lives in England with her family.