Angelina Jolie attended 2013 Women in the
World summit at Lincoln Center in New York City on Thursday, April 4 along with
the likes of Meryl Streep. The actress paid tribute to Malala Yousafzai, a
14-year-old girl from Pakistan who was shot in the head for advocating girls'
education.
"Here's what they accomplished,"
the special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency said of Yousafzai's attackers in
the emotional tribute to introduce the little girl to the crowd. "They
shot her point blank range in the head - and made her stronger. The brutal
attempt to silence her voice made it stronger."
Jolie also joked that Yousafzai was once
informed by her father that she was the sixth most influential person in the
world ahead of President Barack Obama but the girl wasn't happy because she
believed human beings should not be categorized in that way. "So there's a
lot we can learn from this little girl," Jolie said.
The inspiring teen then appeared via a video
from Britain, where she underwent surgery and skull reconstructions and now
attends school. She announced the Malala Fund and said a school had been built
in her home country for 40 girls, thanks to the charity. "Let us turn the
education of 40 girls into 40 million girls," she said.
Tina Brown, the Newsweek/Daily Beast editor
who created the Women in the World summit, later revealed to the audience at
the fourth annual event that Jolie had personally donated $200,000 for the good
cause which Yousafzai is in charge of.
In another tribute segment, Streep took the
stage to honor another activist, Inez McCormack of Northern Ireland, who died
in January of cancer. Also, there was Barbara Walters hosting a panel in Syria.
Other attendees included America Ferrera, Lauren Bush and Diane Von
Furstenberg.
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