Malala, Suu Kyi to address student parliament in Pune

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, who defied the Taliban, and Myanmar opposition leader and Nobel Peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi will address students in Pune Jan 10, an official of the Indian Student Parliament said here Friday.

Malala and Suu Kyi will be present at the inauguration of the three-day Indian Student Parliament (ISM) organised by the prestigious Maharashtra Institute of Technology here.

"Malala is expected to deliver one of the keynote addresses at the ISP, or Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad. The other address will be delivered by Suu Kyi," the official told IANS.

Malala will speak on women's education, the importance of politics among the youth and share her views on politics, which she intends to join in the near future, ISP founder-convenor Rahul Karad said.

The 16-year-old Malala's itinerary has not been made public yet for security reasons, but she is likely to visit a few other Indian cities during her first ever trip to India.

She shot to world fame and earned global admiration after she was shot by Taliban militants in a school bus in 2012, for speaking out in favour of girls' education in her native Swat Valley in Pakistan.

Achieving the status of an international icon, Malala has been relentlessly pursuing her goals in an attempt to prove that progressive thoughts are mightier than terrorist bullets.

The ISP is a platform for students who wish to venture into politics. It hosts eminent speakers like Suu Kyi and Malala to help and guide the young in the nation-building endeavour, the official said.