Teen activist jointly wins Nobel Peace Prize

Malala Yousafzai. Photo / AP

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

The prize was awarded jointly to Malala and Kailash Satyarthi from India, "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education".

"The Nobel Committee 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," the judges said in a statement.

Last year the award was given to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) for its mission to destroy Syria's chemical weapons stocks.

Mr Satyarthi, 60, has maintained the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and headed various forms of peaceful protests, "focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain," the Nobel committee said.

Malala, now aged 17, was living in Pakistan's Swat Valley when she was shot in the head by militants as punishment for her high profile campaign to encourage girls to go to school.

But a year later she was living in Britain, having staged a remarkable recovery thanks to surgeons in Birmingham, and has become an international role model for young people.
Malala's father now works for the High Commission in Birmingham, as an education councillor.

Within Pakistan, however, not all people support the teenager.

Some have cast doubt on her story, accusing her of making it up - despite photos of her head wound - or criticising her for her campaigning zeal. But Pakistan's High Commissioner to the UK told The Telegraph last year that her detractors were "living in the Dark Ages."

"Where Malala comes from, is a complicated place. It's not backwards - that is the wrong word, as it's very beautiful - but it is lacking in worldliness," said Wajid Shamsul Hasan.

"And a small minority of people don't support education for women. They claim to be Muslims, but that is a contradiction in terms because Mohammed encouraged everyone to be educated - men and women.

"Those who say otherwise are barbarians. They are not Muslims, nor followers of any religion. Islam gives property rights to women, for instance.

"And that is the kind of strong Muslim woman that Malala represents. That is why we are all so proud of her."