Tuesday, December 04, 2012
Why Malala Yousafzai Must Win the Nobel Peace Prize
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Why Malala Yousafzai
Must Win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala Yousafzai is an amazing young woman. In only a short
few years, 14 year old Malala has opened up worldwide discussion on the
education of girls. Also, Malala has openly challenged one of the biggest
problems our current world faces, the Taliban and their archaic views on women.
Malala hails from Pakistan 's
Swat valley, a place that has been taken over by the Taliban. It was once a
beautiful tourist destination, but after they Taliban took hold, laws were
enforced that forbid females from attending school and other atrocities (Khan,
2007). Despite these extreme hardships, Malala wrote a blog for the BBC
anonymously starting in 2009 that told the story of what the Taliban was doing
to her home and her education. Despite warnings from the Taliban, Malala
continued to attend school and reached out to the media to gain awareness
(Anchal Project, 2012). Malala became increasingly recognized, and this was a
problem for the Taliban. It all came to a standstill on October 9th
2012 when the two men stormed onto Malala’s school bus, full of innocent school
children, and demanded to see her. The assassin then shot Malala in the head
and neck. Malala is still recovering, but the effects of her campaign against
the Taliban are flourishing. A campaign was started to award Malala with the
Nobel Peace Prize. The campaign has been so successful that Canadian Prime
Minister Stephen Harper has signed on to nominate Malala for the Nobel Peace
Prize (CBC, 2012). With the support and nominations from world leaders, it will
be much more hopeful for the inspirational Malala to win an internationally
respected prize. Not only has she received respect from world leaders, but the
UN has even declared November 10th 2012 as Malala day. Gordon Brown,
UN Special Envoy for Global Education, has also declared it as a mission to
have all out of school children back in school by the end of 2015. The slogan
of the campaign is 'I am Malala', recognizing everyone's need to attend school
and have basic rights.
Some wonder why the Nobel Peace Prize should be given to
such a young girl who wrote on an online blog, but the context in which she
wrote her blog is what is astounding. Coming from a place where girls were not
allowed to go to school, Malala stood up against her enemies with the weapon of
the written word. Many struggle to find the courage to fight the smallest
inconveniences in their life, but with no hesitation, Malala has bravely taken
on the role of defending her education, as well as inspiring a movement in
which the education rights of girls and boys on a global scale is taken on as a
goal. While others feel as though they do not have a voice or an opportunity to
speak out, Malala spoke up for them all. While others are afraid of what will
come if they stand up, Malala took the chance and gave hope for all. While
others in the west struggle to get the motivation to wake up and go to their
comfortable school, Malala has been fighting her way to even be allowed to
attend school. Malala shows the determination, courage and dedication that
makes the impossible possible. These are the attributes of a deserving and
talented young woman who has inspired world leaders and rural Pakistani school
girls alike. This is an example of a young woman who deserves to win the Nobel
Peace Prize for what she has achieved locally, internationally and within the
hearts of many.
It is important not only to give Malala the Nobel Peace
Prize for her role in education, but the large monetary prize would also be of
importance. It is noted that when money is
given to a girl in a developing country, the money goes to something positive,
something to make her life and the lives of those around her better. As
illustrated in the book Half the Sky
by Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl Wudunn, women and girls are very important for a
country’s well being. Countries such as China
have flourished because China
allowed women into the public work sphere. An old Chinese proverb states that
women hold up half the sky, but weak uneducated women cannot do their full
share if they are kept in the low ranks of society. The first step in
empowering women and getting them into the workplace is educating them. Malala
exemplifies this worldwide need to educate women and girls. Malala holds every
idea that will keep her country and our world moving forward. We need to reward
her as she is what our world needs. It is easy in a developed country to go
about living our day to day lives and overlook the needs of other women, but
you cannot sit and avoid what is going on in the rest of the world. Women in North America still feel our world has sexist unfair
overtones, but just imagine the world Malala lives in. Courageous, brave and
whole hearted, Malala deserves all the attention and recognition in the world.
She needs our support to win the Nobel Peace Prize and continued recognition to
achieve her goals. Malala holds up more than half the sky, she holds up the
hearts and dreams of all girls in the world. We are all Malala.
To Sign the Petition:
www.change.org/en-CA/petitions/nobel-peace-prize-for-malala
More
Information and Useful Sources
Anchal Project.
(2012, October, 19). We Are All Malala.
Retrieved from http://anchalproject.org/we-are-all-malala/
CBC. (2012,
November, 22). Prime Minister Stephe n
Harper Signs Petition to Nominate Malala Yousafzai For the Nobel Peace Prize.
Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/strombo/world/prime-minister-stephen-harper-signs-petition-to-nominate-malala-yousafzai-for-the-nobel-peace-prize.html
Khan, Bazir.
(2007). Retrogression in Swat.
Retrieved from http://www.valleyswat.net/articles/ retrogression_in_swat.html
Kristof, N.,
& WuDunn, S. (2010). Half the sky: Turning oppression into opportunity for
women worldwide. (1st ed.). New York :
Vintage.
UN Special Envoy
for Global Education. (2012). A World at
School. Retrieved from http://educationenvoy.org/
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