Listening practice 2-1

Complete transcript of the CNN interview

MY:       Malala Yousufzai  
RS:         Reza Sayah


RS        So, why do you risk your life to raise your voice.
MY       Because, I told them my people need me and I shall raise my voice because…ah…because if  I
              didn’t or raise my voice now, so when did I raise my voice?

RS         Some people might say, “You’re 14. You don’t have any rights. You just have to listen to
              Mom and Dad.

MY         No, I have rights. I have the right of education. I have the right to play. I have the right to
               sing. I have the right to talk. I have the right to go to market. I have the right to speak.

RS         Oh…what if you give that advice to a girl, who may not be as courageous as you? And she
              says, “Malala, I’m afraid. I just wanna stay in my room.”

MY       So, I’ll tell her that “Don’t stay in your room.” Because God will ask you on the Day of
             Judgment that, “Where were you, when your people were asking you, when your school
             fellows were asking you? And when your school was asking you. Then, I am being grown up
             when your people need you, you should come up. You should come and you should stand up
             for their rights.

RS          If you were the president of this country, how would you handle the Taliban?

MY        Ah…first of all, I would like to be so many schools in this country, because education is the
              must thing. If you have …if you don’t have educated people, so the Taliban will come to your
              area. But if you have educated people they will not come.

RS         Well…educated or not, the Taliban would come with bombs and guns. How do you handle
              that? You still talk to them or do you call in the army. What do you do?

MY       First of all, I would like to talk to them.

RS         What would you say?

MY       I would say that what I will demand what do you want.

RS        We want you to shut down your school is what they say?

MY       So, I’ll tell them that don’t shut our schools because school…I will I will…

RS        You’re 14. You have no idea about what you are talking about. We’re gonna shut down your
             school.

MY:        So…give me a second. Well, first of all, I will, I will show them Koran, what Koran says…
               Koran didn't say that girls are not allowed to go to school.


Click here to go to Listening lesson 3.