From being honored last month with the Children's Peace Prize to giving an impassioned speech at the U.N. on her 16th birthday in New York, Malala Yousafzai's mission to educate girls has become a global crusade.
With this week marking the one-year anniversary of the day she was brutally attacked by the Taliban, the Pakistani teen and activist sat down with ABC's Diane Sawyer, where she described the moment that changed her life forever.
Sawyer asked why Yousafzai chose not to cover her face that day, unlike the other girls riding the bus.
"I wanted to live my life as I want," Yousafzai said. Watch in the video above.
The 16-year-old also explained what it felt like to come so close to death.
20 Years OfFreeJournalism
Your Support Fuels Our Mission
Your Support Fuels Our Mission
For two decades, HuffPost has been fearless, unflinching, and relentless in pursuit of the truth. Support our mission to keep us around for the next 20 — we can't do this without you.
We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.
Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again.
We remain committed to providing you with the unflinching, fact-based journalism everyone deserves.
Thank you again for your support along the way. We’re truly grateful for readers like you! Your initial support helped get us here and bolstered our newsroom, which kept us strong during uncertain times. Now as we continue, we need your help more than ever. We hope you will join us once again.
Already contributed? Log in to hide these messages.
"I think death didn't want to kill me. And God was with me," Yousafzai said. "You must go forward, because education and peace is very important. "
Watch Diane Sawyer's exclusive interview with Malala tonight on "World News with Diane Sawyer" at 6:30 p.m. ET.