Malala Yousafzai, the young Pakistani girl who was shot by the Taliban for the crime of speaking out for the rights of girls to get a good education in her country, addressed the United Nations yesterday on her 16th birthday. She gave a stirring speech, which many may have already seen and part of which can be seen here.

If I were asked to name one thing that would make the world a much better place, it would be requiring that women have exactly the same rights and privileges as men. Once that bedrock principle of equality is established, it becomes easier to advance basic rights for other marginalized groups.