Malala Yousafzai Speaks Out on Anniversary of Attack

Female education campaigner calls for dialog with Pakistani Taliban

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Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai has spoken about the Taliban assassination attempt that nearly left her dead one year ago, in interviews with ABC News and the BBC.

The 16-year-old, who was targeted for standing up for the rights of girls to attend school, spent months in a hospital in Britain after a gunman shot her in the head on a school bus near her home in Pakistan. Now, Malala is encouraging talks with the Taliban in the hope of achieving peace. “They must do what they want through dialogue,” she told the BBC.

In an interview with ABC’s Diane Sawyer, Malala said she doesn’t remember the man who pointed a .45 caliber pistol at her, firing three bullets at close range.

“I think death didn’t want to kill me,” she told Sawyer. “And God was with me,”

Sawyer’s interview will air at 18:30 ET on Oct. 7 on World News Tonight, followed by an hour-long special Friday on the program “20/20.” The BBC will air a special on Malala today at 20:30 BST.

[ABC News]

[BBC]