Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year-old Pakistani girl, spends her time fighting for women’s education in her country. This year, she was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, but, unfortunately, she didn’t win.
After finding out she hadn’t won, Malala told Christiane Amanpour of CNN, “I would feel proud, when I would work for education, when I would have done something, when I would be feeling confident to tell people, ‘Yes! I have built that school; I have done that teachers’ training, I have sent that (many) children to school. Then when I get the Nobel Peace Prize, I will be saying, Yeah, I deserve it, somehow.”
According to CNN, Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, an organization that has been fighting for the global ban of chemical weapons for 16 years, won the prize instead.
The actions taken by the OPCW to achieve this global eradication are remarkable. They are helping avert a U.S. strike against President Bashar al-Assad of Syria, according to Reuters.
The OPCW is undoubtedly important, especially at this specific time of international struggle regarding chemical weapons, but should they have won the prize over Malala?
The work of the OPCW is very noble, but, taking into consideration that Malala has already come so far in her journey to advocate her campaign for women’s education rights and reached audiences worldwide at only 16 years old, I would have chosen Malala to win the prize.
She almost encountered death at the age of 14 when she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman on Oct. 9, 2013, targeted simply for defending her beliefs.
A report from Reuters said Malala was constantly being sent death threats from the Taliban during her campaign, but she still managed to stay strong and continue. The amount of courage, leadership and bravery this young girl has shown the world is not only fascinating but extremely surprising.
A few days before OPCW was announced as the winner, Malala was interviewed on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and asked what she would do if attacked again by a Taliban gunman. She replied, “I would tell him how important education is and that I would even want education for your children as well. That’s what I want to tell you, now do what you want.”
It is unbelievable to hear such powerful words from such a young soul. Her statement fills me with hope that there are people out there who can change the world for the better, but it also reminds me of how rare it is to find them and how we need more people like Malala in the world.
According to NBC News, although the decision not to reward Malala with the Nobel Peace Prize was a major disappointment to many, one group was pleased: the one that tried to kill her.
Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid called the decision “very good news” and praised the Nobel Prize committee for “not selecting this immature girl for this famous award. She is not a brave girl and has no courage. We will target her again and attack whenever we have a chance.”
The Taliban’s statement is appalling in so many ways. Attempting to kill a young girl and continuing to threaten her is unbelievable.
Kwesi Ampofo, a junior digital arts major, made an interesting argument in favor of the Nobel Prize committee’s decision: “Although Malala’s act was very noble act I think that she is still too young to win the prize and I think she still has more to do before she gets the award.”
It is true that it would be unusual for a 16-year-old girl to win the Prize. Malala would have become the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, as well as the Nobel Prize in any category, according to CNN.
Although she did not win, she has definitely made a mark in world history, because she opened the doors for more young people to fight for what they believe is right no matter what. Malala is and will continue to be a phenomenal person and inspiration.
I can’t wait to see what more she can do and what else is in store for this young girl.
Irene Sidede can be reached at irene.sidede@spartans.ut.edu