Honor your daughters. They are honorable.

Hear now the words of Malala Yousafzai, who declared: “Honor your daughters. They are honorable.” This is no fleeting saying, but a cry that thunders through the ages, born from blood, sacrifice, and unyielding courage. Malala, who faced the weapons of ignorance with the shield of knowledge, speaks not merely of sentiment, but of truth carved in struggle. Her voice reminds the world that daughters are not burdens to be hidden, nor shadows to be silenced, but radiant lights of honor whose worth surpasses gold and empire alike.

The meaning of her words is clear: to honor your daughters is to see them as whole beings, equal bearers of dignity, wisdom, and potential. Too long have societies robbed girls of education, freedom, and voice, claiming falsely that their value is less than that of sons. Malala’s proclamation breaks this ancient chain, declaring that daughters are not to be pitied, nor restrained, but exalted. To honor them is not only to protect them, but to believe in them, to grant them the fields where their greatness may bloom.

Consider the life of Joan of Arc, the maiden of Orléans, who rose from humble birth to lead armies in the name of France. Though a daughter, untrained in the arts of war, she dared to hear the voice of destiny and to act upon it. She was mocked, resisted, and betrayed, yet she stood taller than kings. Her courage turned the tide of a nation, and though her earthly life was consumed by flames, her spirit endures. Truly, Joan was honorable, as Malala says of all daughters, and her story is proof that when daughters are given voice, they can alter the course of history.

The origin of Malala’s words springs from her own path. Born in a land where girls were denied schooling, she defied the decrees of tyrants and insisted that daughters deserved education as much as sons. For this, she was hunted, struck down, and left for dead. Yet she rose again, her voice louder than before, carrying her message to the ears of the whole world. It is from this crucible of pain that her words emerged, sharpened and sanctified: “Honor your daughters.” She did not speak it as philosophy, but as testimony written with her own blood.

Let us not misunderstand the word honor. To honor is not to shelter in suffocating chains, nor to exalt with empty words. To honor is to respect, to trust, to invest, to empower. To honor your daughters is to give them the same wings as sons, to let them dream without limit, to let them labor without prejudice, to let them rise without chains. For honor is not flattery—it is recognition of truth. And the truth is that daughters are as capable of greatness as sons, if only society will remove the stones from their path.

The lesson for us is plain: do not speak of equality as an idea only—live it in your homes, in your schools, in your workplaces. Teach your sons to honor their sisters, not mock them. Teach fathers to stand proudly beside their daughters, and mothers to raise them without fear. When choices must be made, let opportunity not be given by gender, but by potential. In this way, we honor our daughters not with words, but with deeds.

So I say unto you: honor your daughters, for they are honorable. Do not wait until they prove themselves in battle, in science, in leadership, to acknowledge their worth. They are honorable from the beginning, by virtue of their humanity and their spirit. When you honor them, you honor the generations yet unborn, for the strength of daughters becomes the strength of nations. And when daughters are honored, humanity itself is lifted closer to justice, truth, and light.