Proof that one voice can have an impact

ONE child, one teacher, one pen, and one book can change the world.

These were the concluding remarks made by Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai in her historic address to the UN General Assembly last week.

That a teenager from the mountainous Swat Valley region of Pakistan should be delivering a speech in one of the world’s most venerated and renowned seats of power might, under normal circumstances, be deemed significant in itself. That is was the day of her 16th birthday might also be considered momentous.