This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Notre Dame chapter.
On October 10, 2014 Malala Yousafazi became the youngest person ever to receive a Nobel Peace Prize. Malala shares the award with Kailash Satyarthi, a 60 year old Indian child activist. The press didn’t receive a comment on the prize until later in the day because Malala (did I mention she’s 17 years old?!) was in the middle of chemistry class.
In case you live under a rock, have never been to Barnes and Noble, or are simply too drained to remember any information due to that #MidtermzStruggle, allow me to introduce you to Malala Yousafazi.
This is Malala:
Who She Is:
Even as a teenager, she’s kind of the most badass chick ever. Growing up in the Swat valley of Pakistan, Malala has been an activist for children’s education and feminism for years.
When she was 11, she started blogging for the BBC about the Taliban assault on girls’ education. The New York Times made a documentary about her life. By 13 she was a well known global education activist.
As Taliban influence took over the Swat Valley, Malala’s activism soon made her a target and at 14 years old Taliban operatives boarded her school bus, asked for her by name, and shot her three times at point blank range.
They also put out an order for the murder of her father, a school principle and activist.
Malala made a recovery that was nothing short of miraculous, and in effect, garnered a global following.
Protests against the shooting were held in several cities across Pakistan. Over 2 million people signed the Right to Education campaign’s petition for the first ever Right to Education Bill in Pakistan.
Malala wrote a book about her life in the Swat Valley, the shooting, and her activism called I Am Malala whose proceeds go towards the Malala fund for education.
Who Her Co-Winner Is:
Founder of the Save The Childhood Movement, Kailash Satayari has dedicated his life to ending child labor in India, a cause he’s been supporting since the 80s. He works in collaboration with various humanitarian groups across the world to raise awareness about exploitation and to promote universal education.
What It All Means:
The Nobel committee uses its honorees to make statements. This year the emphasis is on children’s rights. Malala and Kailash will split the prize money and, more importantly, receive a global stage to discuss their causes.
The prize money and notoriety hardly mark the end of this fight.
“I want to see every child going to school,” Malala says. “There are still 57 million children who have not received education.”