Malala Makes History as the Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate

[jchima]

Pakistani child education activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, has made history as the youngest Nobel peace prize winner. She is to share the prize with Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.

The teenager was shot in the head in 2012 for campaigning for girls' education. Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Source: Malala Makes History as the Youngest Nobel Peace Prize Laureate - eReporter

 

[waltky]

Malala becomes youngest recipient of Nobel Peace prize...

Two Champions of Children Are Given Nobel Peace Prize
10 Oct.`14 ~ “Who is Malala?” shouted the Taliban gunman who leapt onto a crowded bus in northwestern Pakistan two years ago, then fired a bullet into the head of Malala Yousafzai, a 15-year-old schoolgirl and outspoken activist.

That question has been answered many times since by Ms. Yousafzai herself, who survived her injuries and went on to become an impassioned advocate, global celebrity and, on Friday, the latest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize alongside the Indian child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi. Yet since that decisive gunshot in October 2012, Ms. Yousafzai and her compelling story have been reshaped by a range of powerful forces — often, though not always, for good — in ways that have left her straddling perilous fault lines of culture, politics and religion.

Malala Yousafzai, 17, said she was honored to be the youngest person to receive the award. She dedicated it to the “voiceless.”

In Pakistan, conservatives assailed the schoolgirl as an unwitting pawn in an American-led assault. In the West, she came to embody the excesses of violent Islam, or was recruited by campaigners to raise money and awareness for their causes. Ms. Yousafzai, guided by her father and a public relations team, helped to transform that image herself, co-writing a best-selling memoir. And now the Nobel Prize committee has provided a fresh twist on her story, recasting her as an envoy for South Asian peace.

Announcing the prize in Oslo on Friday, the committee chairman, Thorbjorn Jagland, said it was important for “a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism” — a resonant message in a week in which the Pakistani and Indian armies have exchanged shellfire across a disputed stretch of border, killing 20 villagers. But it was also a message that highlighted how far Ms. Yousafzai has come from her original incarnation as the schoolgirl who defied the Taliban and lived to tell the tale.

Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian children's rights campaigner

Amid the debate about the politics of her celebrity, few question the heroism of Ms. Yousafzai — a charismatic and exceptionally eloquent teenager who has followed an astonishing trajectory since being airlifted from Pakistan’s Swat Valley. At just 17, she has visited with President Obama and the queen of England, addressed the United Nations, and become the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize since it was created in 1901. She learned of her award on Friday when a teacher called her from a chemistry lesson at Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham, the English city she now calls home.

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[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - `cause she's an extraordinary young lady...

In 'He Named Me Malala,' Guggenheim Finds Normal in Extraordinary
October 09, 2015 - Davis Guggenheim remembers how he first met Malala Yousafsai. It was, he recalls, remarkably mundane.

And then the questions started coming. “I took a taxi cab to her house in Birmingham and I rang the doorbell and I didn't know who I was gonna meet," said the renowned American director. "I am from Los Angeles, I am half Jewish, half Episcopalian, I've never really known a Muslim family very well, and Malala answered the door. "I realized they are just like my family, and I thought how did this amazing girl happen? How this father and this girl did something so extraordinary? I made a movie about that. I made a very personal movie,” said Guggenheim.

The result was his September 2014 release, He Named Me Malala, an 87-minute documentary that tries to answer his own questions and probes the life of 18 year old Malala Yousafsai, the Nobel-Prize-winning Pakistani teenager who, in 2012, was shot in the head by the Taliban for standing up for her right to an education in Pakistan's Swat Valley. The film shows how Malala has since become a symbol not of brutal violence but advocacy for girls’ education throughout the world, her role producing a kind of global resonance that, for Guggenheim, struck a deeply personal chord. Prosperity, gender and social equality around the world, he believes, starts with good schooling, especially in countries where women are second class citizens. That’s why Malala’s story was so important to him to tell.

The bullet

Starting with her slow, painful recovery from the October 2012 attack, Guggenheim shows how her close-knit ties to here two brothers and parents brought her back from the brink. Malala shares a strong bond with the dad, Ziauddin Yousafzai, a school teacher and an activist himself. "When she was very small, many friends used to come to our home," we see her father say. "We used to talk about politics, we used to talk about the basic rights and she would sit with us.” Guggenheim said Malala’s life was almost prescribed from the moment her father, himself an activist, named her after a 19th century Afghan folk heroine. “She was named after Malalai of Maiwand, a girl who spoke out for what she believed. She rallied the Afghan troops to defeat the British. She spoke out and she was killed for speaking out. She was inspired by that girl and she believes that she is on this earth to do something good."

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[Anonymous1977]

If Ms. Yousafzai gives up Islam because of it's oppression of women hopefully she will retain her very admirable covering her body when she dresses. So admirable:

So NOT admirable:

Moslem woman holding up Qur'an (the Moslems scripture book) 4:34 which allows wife-beating...

 

[waltky]

Malala inspired by Emma Watson...

Malala Yousafzai tells Emma Watson: I'm a feminist thanks to you
Thursday 5 November 2015 - Nobel laureate tells film star term seemed ‘tricky’ until she was inspired by Watson’s speech at the UN last year

Malala Yousafzai has told Emma Watson that the actor’s speech to world leaders made her change her mind about not describing herself as a feminist. The 18-year-old human rights and education champion from Pakistan met the film star at the premiere of a documentary about her, called He Named Me Malala. Yousafzai, a Nobel peace prize winner, said she initially thought feminism was a “tricky word” but now believed everyone should be a feminist. Watson, a UN global goodwill ambassador for women, gave a speech to the UN last year to launch her “He for She” campaign, aimed at encouraging men to speak up for women’s rights.

Yousafzai began speaking out on education for girls in 2009 when she was just 12. She was 15 and on her way home from school in Swat valley, Pakistan, when she was shot in the head in October 2012, for speaking out against the Taliban and its ban on female education. Yousafzai said her father, Ziauddin, had been an “example to all men” and called himself a feminist. She added: “It has been a tricky word. When I heard it the first time I heard some negative responses and some positive ones. I hesitated in saying am I feminist or not? “Then after hearing your speech I decided there’s no way and there’s nothing wrong by calling yourself a feminist. So I’m a feminist and we all should be a feminist because feminism is another word for equality.” Men “have to step forward” to promote equality of the sexes, she said.

Watson posted a video of the interview on her Facebook page and said she found Yousafzai’s admission moving. She said: “Perhaps the most moving moment of today for me was when Malala addressed the issue of feminism. To give you some background, I had initially planned to ask Malala whether or not she was a feminist but then researched to see whether she had used this word to describe herself. “Having seen that she hadn’t, I decided to take the question out before the day of our interview. To my utter shock Malala put the question back into one of her own answers and identified herself. Maybe feminist isn’t the easiest word to use … but she did it anyway. “I’ve spoken before on what a controversial word feminism is currently. More recently, I am learning what a factionalised movement it is too. We are all moving towards the same goal. “Let’s not make it scary to say you’re a feminist. I want to make it a welcoming and inclusive movement. Let’s join our hands and move together so we can make real change. Malala and I are pretty serious about it but we need you.”

Yousafzai has been living in Birmingham with her family since the assassination attempt. She is studying for A-levels in history, economics, maths and religious studies and plans could include going to Oxford University, or Stanford, in California.

Malala Yousafzai tells Emma Watson: I'm a feminist thanks to you

 

[Anonymous1977]

Malala inspired by Emma Watson...

Malala Yousafzai tells Emma Watson: I'm a feminist thanks to you
Thursday 5 November 2015 - Nobel laureate tells film star term seemed ‘tricky’ until she was inspired by Watson’s speech at the UN last year

Malala Yousafzai has told Emma Watson that the actor’s speech to world leaders made her change her mind about not describing herself as a feminist. The 18-year-old human rights and education champion from Pakistan met the film star at the premiere of a documentary about her, called He Named Me Malala. Yousafzai, a Nobel peace prize winner, said she initially thought feminism was a “tricky word” but now believed everyone should be a feminist. Watson, a UN global goodwill ambassador for women, gave a speech to the UN last year to launch her “He for She” campaign, aimed at encouraging men to speak up for women’s rights.

Yousafzai began speaking out on education for girls in 2009 when she was just 12. She was 15 and on her way home from school in Swat valley, Pakistan, when she was shot in the head in October 2012, for speaking out against the Taliban and its ban on female education. Yousafzai said her father, Ziauddin, had been an “example to all men” and called himself a feminist. She added: “It has been a tricky word. When I heard it the first time I heard some negative responses and some positive ones. I hesitated in saying am I feminist or not? “Then after hearing your speech I decided there’s no way and there’s nothing wrong by calling yourself a feminist. So I’m a feminist and we all should be a feminist because feminism is another word for equality.” Men “have to step forward” to promote equality of the sexes, she said.

Watson posted a video of the interview on her Facebook page and said she found Yousafzai’s admission moving. She said: “Perhaps the most moving moment of today for me was when Malala addressed the issue of feminism. To give you some background, I had initially planned to ask Malala whether or not she was a feminist but then researched to see whether she had used this word to describe herself. “Having seen that she hadn’t, I decided to take the question out before the day of our interview. To my utter shock Malala put the question back into one of her own answers and identified herself. Maybe feminist isn’t the easiest word to use … but she did it anyway. “I’ve spoken before on what a controversial word feminism is currently. More recently, I am learning what a factionalised movement it is too. We are all moving towards the same goal. “Let’s not make it scary to say you’re a feminist. I want to make it a welcoming and inclusive movement. Let’s join our hands and move together so we can make real change. Malala and I are pretty serious about it but we need you.”

Yousafzai has been living in Birmingham with her family since the assassination attempt. She is studying for A-levels in history, economics, maths and religious studies and plans could include going to Oxford University, or Stanford, in California.

Malala Yousafzai tells Emma Watson: I'm a feminist thanks to you

Thanks for this post Walt...I didn't know that Feminism and Islam could co-exist.

Ms. Yousafzai is a wonderful young woman in my book...Christianity says what it says about women, like these Scriptures:

Bible Gateway passage: 1 Timothy 2:12 - King James Version

Bible Gateway passage: 1 Corinthians 14:34-35 - King James Version

But I myself as a Christian man recognize no differences when it comes to males rights and females rights...



-

 

[Iron Head]

Malala needs a freakin' makeover.

 

[waltky]

Malala's mother steps out of the shadows...

Malala Yousafzai's mother: Out of the shadows
Tue, 18 Apr 2017 - Toor Pekai Yousafzai opens up about how her life changed when her daughter was shot by the Taliban.

Over the past five years, Malala Yousafzai has become one of the world's most famous young women - the schoolgirl shot in Pakistan who built a new life in Birmingham after surgery, then campaigned for education for all girls, won the Nobel Peace Prize and inspired the world with her life story. Now her mother, Toor Pekai Yousafzai, has spoken to the BBC for the first time to explain how her own life has changed in the past five years. "It was very hard when I left everyone behind," says Toor Pekai. "We didn't expect to live in a foreign country. "When other people leave their country they accept everything that comes their way and they're ready for it, but we couldn't prepare. "We had to suddenly leave Pakistan. The attack changed everything. We had to focus on Malala's life."

A higher profile

Very few readers will recognise Toor Pekai from her picture. Whenever Malala attends a high-profile function to promote her cause, she is invariably accompanied by her father Ziauddin, who has often been interviewed about his daughter's many successes. Meanwhile, Malala's mother has played her own low-profile, but important, role at home with the rest of the family in Birmingham. Toor Pekai explains: "When Malala was being treated in hospital we were very busy looking after her. Then she wrote a book and we were busy with that too, so that's why I wasn't in the public eye. "But now I'm trying to help other people get an education, so from now on I want to be more involved in these kinds of things. But if these interviews were in my own language it would be easier!"

Malala Yousafzai's mother Toor Pekai Yousafzai is rarely in the public eye​

Toor Pekai's life is now rooted here in the UK, looking after Malala and her two sons. Despite Malala winning a Nobel Peace Prize and mixing with world leaders she still has to tell her to clean her room and look after herself. In fact, when she describes her day-to-day relationship with her daughter, it sounds like just any other mother dealing with a millennial teenager. "She doesn't eat very well and doesn't drink enough water. She doesn't go to sleep on time and studies until midnight. We tell her to eat fruit and do her prayers, and she tells her brothers, but she doesn't."

Although Toor Pekai did not get an education herself in Pakistan, she now attends English classes in Birmingham and has built a network of friends through that. "Some of them are from Swat and I knew them from back there already. Recently another friend of mine came from Peshawar. "There aren't any people from Pakistan in my English class but there are people from Iraq, Iran and one from Afghanistan. We have parties and I cook rice, chicken and fish, and they like my food."

Flying the nest

 

[waltky]

Granny says, "Dat's right - you go gurl!...

Malala Yousafzai graduates high school, vows to fight for girls on Twitter
July 7, 2017 - Pakistani activist for female education and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai is so wise and well-spoken, it's easy to forget just how young she is.

In fact, the 19-year-old graduated from high school just this week, but she's not heading off on a senior beach trip. Instead, Yousafzai kicked off post-grad life by joining Twitter to share some reflections on what the milestone means to her — and planning a #GirlPowerTrip to continue her work. "Graduating from secondary school (high school) is bittersweet for me," wrote Yousafzai on Twitter. "I'm excited about my future, but I know that millions of girls around the world are out of school and may never get the opportunity to complete their education."

She continued, "Next week, I will be back on my #GirlPowerTrip to meet girls in Middle East, Africa & Latin America. Each girl’s story is unique  —  and girls' voices are our most powerful weapons in the fight for education and equality. On and off Twitter, I'm fighting for girls —  will you join me?"

Yousafzai also gave a more in-depth account of her personal education journey on her blog. "The Taliban took over our beautiful home in Swat Valley and declared a ban on girls’ education," she recalled. "Our teachers told us to stop wearing our uniforms because it wasn’t safe ... When my family fled our home, I worried I was leaving behind more than books and pens  —  I feared I was leaving behind my dreams for the future."

She finished, "I will never forget how it felt to have my future taken away from me ... I promise to keep fighting until the day that every girl can put on her uniform, pack up her books and walk to school without fear." Powerful words from a powerful woman. Congratulations, Malala! We can't wait to see what's next for you.

Malala Yousafzai graduates high school, vows to fight for girls on Twitter