In America, the “war on women” is basically a cheap political punch line. Not so in other parts of the world. An advocate who is fighting back against a real war against women has just been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 on her way to school in Pakistan, has won the award for her work advocating for the education of girls around the world. She won along with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian child rights campaigner.
Yousafzai was in the running for the award last year, but lost to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which has been working (so far without success) to eliminate chemical weapons in Syria. Though Yousafzai missed out on the Peace Prize last year, she did win the prestigious Sakharov Prize for human rights.
Yousafzai winning the prize this year makes her the youngest person ever – at 17 years old – to win the award.
Yousafzai’s mission to bring education to girls around the world highlights the real struggles women face in other countries. In Pakistan’s Swat Valley, where Yousafzai attended school, the Taliban in 2009 banned girls from attending school. Though the ban was eventually lifted, the terrorist group still sought to keep women from getting an education, leading to the attempted assassination of Yousafzai three years later.
Yousafzai’s life story shows what real strength is about. She didn’t give up after she was shot — she continued advocating for girls’ education.
She’s also fighting for a basic human right – the right to get an education without fear of being attacked.
The perspective she brings is something women in America should note.
