Youngest Recipient of Nobel Prize Works for Education for Women

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by Isabella Reese

Malala Yousafzai, the young advocate for the education girls and who was shot in the head by the Taliban back in 2012, has become the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize because of her efforts for the education of girls.

Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said “This [fight for the education of girls] she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.” according to the BBC.

Yousafzai first became known in 2009, at the young age of 12, after anonymously writing about her life under the heavy-handed rule of the Taliban to the BBC, an Islamic fundamentalist political movement in Afghanistan that has spread to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Yousafzai’s home country, Pakistan.

From there she made global headlines. However, two years ago, Yousafzai was shot in the head after gunmen from the Taliban boarded her school bus in the Swat Valley. She has since recovered and lives in Birmingham, U.K. and attends school there while continuing to tirelessly advocate.

Since her recovery, she has given a speech to the UN General Assembly and published her own book, “I Am Malala:The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban”, which received hailing reviews.

Pakistan’s Prime, Minister Nawaz Sharif, congratulated Yousafzai, saying “Her achievement is unparalleled and unequalled. Girls and boys of the world should take the lead from her struggle and commitment.”

Yousafzai is more than just a teenager who survived, she is a symbol for hope and courage to girls all around the world. She inspires us with her bravery and has become a lasting force in the efforts toward the education of girls.

Yousafzai and fellow prize winner, Kailash Satyarthi, advocate of children’s education, will be invited to attend an award ceremony in Oslo, Norway, in December to receive a medal and $1.4 million in prize money for their efforts.