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Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi Receive Nobel Peace Prizes Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi Receive Nobel Peace Prizes
(about 5 hours later)
LONDON — They came from lands that had fought wars against each other, and that still skirmish — an older man and a high school student divided by faith and generations; he a Hindu, she a Muslim; he age 60, she 17.LONDON — They came from lands that had fought wars against each other, and that still skirmish — an older man and a high school student divided by faith and generations; he a Hindu, she a Muslim; he age 60, she 17.
But when Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012, and Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian campaigner for the rights of children, were named as joint winners of the $1.1 million Nobel Peace Prize in October, the choice seemed to speak to a desire to transcend differences and forge a common campaign in support of dispossessed children across the globe. But when Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012, and Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian campaigner for the rights of children, were named joint winners of the $1.1 million Nobel Peace Prize in October, the choice seemed to speak to a desire to transcend differences and forge a common campaign in support of dispossessed children across the globe.
On Wednesday, Ms. Yousafzai and Mr. Satyarthi received their awards from the Norwegian Nobel Committee in a vast and ornate chamber at the Oslo City Hall before an audience of royals, dignitaries, family members and others.On Wednesday, Ms. Yousafzai and Mr. Satyarthi received their awards from the Norwegian Nobel Committee in a vast and ornate chamber at the Oslo City Hall before an audience of royals, dignitaries, family members and others.
Ms. Yousafzai said the Nobel Prize “is not just for me.”Ms. Yousafzai said the Nobel Prize “is not just for me.”
“It is for those forgotten children who want education,” she continued. “It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.”“It is for those forgotten children who want education,” she continued. “It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change.”
Ms. Yousafzai formally became the youngest recipient of the prize since it was first awarded in 1901, adding to an extraordinary tally of accolades including visits with President Obama and with Queen Elizabeth of England and an address to the United Nations. Ms. Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the prize since it was first awarded in 1901, adding to an extraordinary tally of accolades including visits with President Obama and with Queen Elizabeth II and an address to the United Nations.
“Her courage is almost indescribable,” Thorbjorn Jagland, the chairman of the Nobel Committee, told the ceremony on Wednesday. “Her courage is almost indescribable,” Thorbjorn Jagland, the chairman of the Nobel Committee, told those at the ceremony on Wednesday.
If their shared award “can contribute to bringing Indians and Pakistanis, two people so near to one another and yet so distant, closer to one another, this would add an extra dimension to the prize,” Mr. Jagland said.If their shared award “can contribute to bringing Indians and Pakistanis, two people so near to one another and yet so distant, closer to one another, this would add an extra dimension to the prize,” Mr. Jagland said.
Standing side by side to receive medals and diplomas, the two winners drew a standing ovation from the audience before them.Standing side by side to receive medals and diplomas, the two winners drew a standing ovation from the audience before them.
In his speech to the ceremony, Mr. Satyarthi, speaking alternately in Hindi and in English, declared that he represented “the sound of silence, the cry of innocence, and the face of invisibility.”In his speech to the ceremony, Mr. Satyarthi, speaking alternately in Hindi and in English, declared that he represented “the sound of silence, the cry of innocence, and the face of invisibility.”
“I have come here to share the voices and dreams of our children, because they are all our children,” he said.“I have come here to share the voices and dreams of our children, because they are all our children,” he said.
“There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children,” he said.“There is no greater violence than to deny the dreams of our children,” he said.
“I refuse to accept that the shackles of slavery can ever be more stronger than the quest for freedom,” he added. “The single aim of my life is that every child is free to be a child.”“I refuse to accept that the shackles of slavery can ever be more stronger than the quest for freedom,” he added. “The single aim of my life is that every child is free to be a child.”
“We live in an age of rapid globalization,” he continued. “We are connected through high-speed Internet. We exchange goods and services in one single global market. Thousands of flights every day connect us to every corner of the globe.“We live in an age of rapid globalization,” he continued. “We are connected through high-speed Internet. We exchange goods and services in one single global market. Thousands of flights every day connect us to every corner of the globe.
“But there is one serious disconnect. It is the lack of compassion,” he said, adding: “Let us globalize compassion.”“But there is one serious disconnect. It is the lack of compassion,” he said, adding: “Let us globalize compassion.”
Ms. Yousafzai said she had brought with her five other teenage girls from Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria. “Though I appear as one girl, one person who is 5 foot 2 inches tall, if you include my high heels, I am not a lone voice. I am many,” she said. Ms. Yousafzai, who studies at Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham, England, said she had brought with her five other teenage girls from Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria. “Though I appear as one girl, one person who is 5 foot 2 inches tall if you include my high heels I am not a lone voice. I am many,” she said.
She said she would spend her share of the prize money on building schools in Pakistan.She said she would spend her share of the prize money on building schools in Pakistan.
“This is where I will begin, but it is not where I will stop,” she said. “I will continue this fight until I see every child in school.”“This is where I will begin, but it is not where I will stop,” she said. “I will continue this fight until I see every child in school.”
She added: “Why is it that countries which we call so strong are so powerful in creating wars but so weak in bringing peace? Why is it that giving guns is so easy but giving books is so hard? Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so hard?”She added: “Why is it that countries which we call so strong are so powerful in creating wars but so weak in bringing peace? Why is it that giving guns is so easy but giving books is so hard? Why is it that making tanks is so easy, but building schools is so hard?”
Even before the ceremony, Ms. Yousafzai and Mr. Satyarthi seemed intent on using the occasion not simply as a platform for acknowledgment of their achievements, but also as a podium from which to renew their campaigns.Even before the ceremony, Ms. Yousafzai and Mr. Satyarthi seemed intent on using the occasion not simply as a platform for acknowledgment of their achievements, but also as a podium from which to renew their campaigns.
“We are not here just to accept our award, get this medal and go back home,” Ms. Yousafzai told a news conference on the eve of the ceremony, according to Agence France-Presse. “We are here to tell children especially that you need to stand up, you need to speak up for your rights. It is you who can change the world.” “We are not here just to accept our award, get this medal and go back home,” Ms. Yousafzai told a news conference on the eve of the ceremony, according to Agence France-Presse. “We are here to tell children, especially, that you need to stand up. You need to speak up for your rights. It is you who can change the world.”
“In this world, if we are thinking we are modern and have achieved so much development,” she said on Tuesday, “then why is it that there are so many countries where children are not asking for any iPad or computer or anything? What they are asking for is just a book, just a pen, so why can’t we do that?”“In this world, if we are thinking we are modern and have achieved so much development,” she said on Tuesday, “then why is it that there are so many countries where children are not asking for any iPad or computer or anything? What they are asking for is just a book, just a pen, so why can’t we do that?”
Mr. Satyarthi, who has struggled to free child laborers, said, “This prize is important for the millions and millions who are denied a childhood.”Mr. Satyarthi, who has struggled to free child laborers, said, “This prize is important for the millions and millions who are denied a childhood.”
“There are children who are sold and bought like animals,” he said.“There are children who are sold and bought like animals,” he said.
“There are children who are born and live in situations of conflict and terror,” he added, referring to Ms. Yousafzai as “the bravest child we can think of.”“There are children who are born and live in situations of conflict and terror,” he added, referring to Ms. Yousafzai as “the bravest child we can think of.”
In its citation, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that Mr. Satyarthi had “headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain.”
Of Ms. Yousafzai, the committee said: “Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzai has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances.”
After the attack in 2012, Ms. Yousafzai achieved global renown, but her reputation as a campaigner has not always been welcomed in Pakistan. In November, a network of private schools issued a searing public attack on her, urging the government to outlaw her best-selling memoir, “I Am Malala,” because it offended Islam and the “ideology of Pakistan.”
Ms. Yousafzai now studies at Edgbaston High School for Girls in Birmingham, England.