The Pakistani schoolgirl attacked by the Taliban last year appeared at the United Nations on Friday to deliver her first speech since undergoing surgery and to celebrate a global day in her honor. Malala Yousafzai was left seriously wounded when militants shot her in the head for campaigning for the rights of girls. On Friday, her 16th birthday, Malala said she is undeterred by the Taliban’s efforts to silence her voice.

Malala Yousafzai: “Dear friends, on the 9th of October, 2012, the Taliban shot me on the left side of my forehead. They shot my friends, too. They thought that the bullet would silence us. But they failed. And out of that silence came thousands of voices. The terrorists thought that they would change my aims and stop my ambitions. But nothing changed in my life except this: Weakness, fear and hopelessness died; strength, power and courage was born.”

Yousafzai says she intends to focus her campaigning on seeking compulsory free education for all children.