Considering Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 while his country was, he admitted, ‘in the midst of two wars’, you’d think the committee would have, half a decade later, stepped it up a bit. And it seems they really have, as they have voted to award 2014’s prize to Malala Yousafzai.
The girls’ and women’s education rights activist is the youngest ever winner of the prize, aged just 17. She wins the award alongside Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian children’s rights activist who has been campaigning against child labour since before Malala was even born.
Just in case you need a refresher, Malala was trying to go to school in her homeland of Pakistan, but was constantly being stopped by the Taliban. She then started a blog about the difficulties of trying to get a half-decent education (her dad is a teacher) under the rule of an authority that’s seemingly petrified of women reaching their potential.
However, as the blog reached the BBC, the Taliban were further horrified by its existence and sent two of their number to shoot Malala on a school bus. They shot her in the head – she was just 15.
Fortunately, she survived – with some help from British surgeons – and now lives in Birmingham, where she can get an education without anyone trying to stop her. In fact, the only thing that could get in the way of her studies is the fact she travels the world with her dad to give talks on the importance of women’s education.
She even met with Jonathan Goodluck, the president of Nigeria, to talk with him about the importance of Boko Haram returning the 200 girls who had been kidnapped from Chibok school. This was just a few days after she did her GCSEs. Though the Nigerian girls are sadly still captive, Malala’s campaign remains tireless, and it’s pretty fitting that she got this award on the International Day of the Girl. (A bit about that – it’s the UN’s special nod to girls across the world, their official statement saying, ‘The observation supports more opportunity for girls, and increases awareness of inequality faced by girls worldwide based upon their gender.’)
READ MORE: ‘Islam Is Not A Monolith. And Women Were Never Meant To Have A Uniform’
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that Kailash and Malala were awarded the prize: ‘For their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.’
Plus, the award has been given across cultural divides, reports The Guardian, in that it ‘regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism.’
Any old lazy entitled person might think that once you’ve got a Nobel Peace Prize you don’t really need any A levels, but you can bet Malala will be back to school within days.
Like this? You might also be interested in:
Malala Yousafzai Doesn’t Really Get Modern Pop Music, But That’s Cool
Malala Yousafzai Is Donating Money To Fund Education Of Nigerian Girls
Malala Commemorates Malala Day With Visit To Nigerian Schoolgirls’ Families
Follow Sophie on Twitter @sophwilkinson
Picture: Getty
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.