Malala Yousafzai is a 17 year old Pakistani activist for women and children’s rights who just became the youngest ever Nobel Prize Recipient with the 2014 prize. However, Malala’s name and story aren’t nearly as well known as they should be due to the Ebola outbreak overpowering recent news. Yousafzai is an advocate for girls’ education in areas where it is difficult for them to achieve it. She was only 11 years old when she published her diary under the pseudonym, Gul Makau.
The diary centered around her life as a young girl, struggling to get an education under Taliban control. The publication of her diary and revealing of her actual name made her a target for the Taliban, according to malala.org. A masked gunman came onto her school bus on Oct. 9, 2012 asking for her by name. He shot her with a single bullet which went through head, neck, and shoulder. The bullet didn’t penetrate the skull but rather traveled through the skin, leaving her in critical condition, according to the BBC. She received treatment from a military injury specialist in the UK, according to malala.org.
Children all over the world have been influenced by Malala’s work. In a good portion of the world, compulsory education isn’t widely recognized. As the world is becoming increasingly globally connected, and we need to invest more time and effort into ensuring everyone gets an education. Malala’s work sparked the Right to Education campaign which was signed by two million people before Pakistan’s government ratified their first right to education bill, according to malala.org.
Malala was awarded the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize along with Kailash Satyathe, “For their struggle against the suppression of children and young people, and for the right of all children to education,” the Nobel Prize Website stated. Her progress toward changing the world at such a young age means that even we as college students can be making a difference.
These achievements have been overshadowed, by the overpowering media presence of Ebola. 20 UT students were surveyed and asked if they knew anything about Ebola and if they knew anything about Malala. All of these students knew at least some background knowledge about Ebola. Two students recognized Malala’s name right off the bat, and two more recognized her story after being told about her recent Nobel Peace Prize.
The other 16 students either laughed at her funny sounding name or just shook their head that they’d never heard of her. Troy Schneider, a freshman communication major asked: “Is that a drug?” Andrea Guzman, a freshman mathematics major asked if she was running for homecoming queen. The majority of students surveyed said they got their information from news websites or from social media. A simple search on cnn.com will give 219 results when Malala’s name is searched, but 1,379 results for Ebola. Ebola is trending on Facebook and is the number one item on the Editor’s Choice bar at the top of the CNN Website.
Although Ebola is undeniably a big deal in Africa, it doesn’t need to dominate the news in America. Ebola is not as much of a threat as it’s perceived to be. It’s spreading rapidly in Africa due to inadequate healthcare facilities. In the US, however, Ebola isn’t an issue. The disease is not easy to catch, it’s only spread through a sick person’s bodily fluids or eating a contaminated animal, not through coughing, sneezing, or breathing, according to thinkprogress.org. “There’s virtually no chance [Ebola] could spread very far in the United States” According to CDC officials on thinkprogress.org.
The world needs to hear some good news too. Steps toward worldwide education are important and newsworthy. Seventeen year old Malala achievement is something that should be covered in the news on a far wider scale. The fact that the Nobel Peace Prize can be given at all means that someone in the world is working to make a difference for the better.
Malala’s dedication to the education of children under an oppressive regime is something that needs to be widely known and acclaimed. The ratification of laws requiring education need to be remembered and observed. The youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize deserves recognition and celebration.
Olivia Reeb can be reached at olivia.reeb@spartans.ut.edu