Pakistani Teenager Wins Peace Prize
29 August 2013 at 9:26 am
A 16-year-old Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai, who risked her life in the fight for access to education for girls all over the world is to be presented with the International Children’s Peace Prize for 2013.
The award will be presented in The Hague on September 6th by the Dutch children’s rights organisation, KidsRights which puts the spotlight on a child who has demonstrated special dedication to children’s rights.
Malala will be presented with the prize by human rights activist Tawakkol Karman from Yemen; the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2011.
As an 11-year-old girl, Malala became widely known by stepping forward and writing a blog under a pseudonym for the BBC. She wrote every day about her passion for school and the oppression of the Taliban in Pakistan.
KidsRights says that in doing so, she focused on the ban in her region on girls going to school.
“Malala told the world about how it felt to sit at home not having a school to go to. In 2012, she had to pay for her bravery with a targeted attempt on her life by the Taliban. Malala was severely wounded and had to flee to England, where she now lives and goes to school.
“With her words and strong communication skills, she positively raises awareness to the fact that all children have the right to education in a safe environment,” KidsRights said.
“The winners of the International Children’s Peace Prize have proven that any child is able to change and to move the world. Each one of them has successfully fought to solve problems such as child slavery, poverty and the lack of access to education and healthcare,” Marc Dullaert, chairman and founder of the Dutch KidsRights Foundation said.
Every year, the winner of the International Children’s Peace Prize is selected by an independent Expert Committee from nominations from all over the world.
“Malala was already one of the nominees in 2011, but this year the Expert Committee unanimously decided not to nominate other children, but to award the International Children’s Peace Prize to Malala,” Dullaert said.
The prize was launched by KidsRights during the 2005 Nobel Peace Laureates’ Summit chaired by Mikhail Gorbachev. Since then, the prize has been presented every year by a Nobel Peace Prize Laureate.
Malala has been previously awarded Ireland’s Tipperary International Peace Award for her human rights campaign work.
