You're listening to TED Talks Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day.

I'm your host, Elise Hugh.

It was August 2021.

I was in the hospital, recovering from one last surgery to repair the facial paralysis I suffered after the attack.

I picked up my phone and saw the Taliban had taken control of Afghanistan.

That's Malala Yusufzai.

She's one of the most recognized beacons of hope in the world.

The youngest Nobel laureate in history, a global advocate for education,

the girl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban and kept on fighting.

But when Afghanistan fell to the Taliban in 2021, hope collapsed.

The mission she had dedicated her life to, a world where every girl could go to school,

took a step backwards.

My foundation had been hope and optimism.

But then, in a single day, my belief in progress shattered.

In this powerful talk, Malala shares a sight of herself

that the world doesn't often see,

what it feels like when the person everyone looks to for hope has lost her own.

She shares how her theory of social change has evolved,

what she's learned that's kept her going even in her darkest moments,

and how we can keep building the future we want, even when hope feels lost.

Because the Afghan girls are not giving up on learning, even if it means risking their lives.

It is far from the education that they deserve, but it's a start.

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