LONDON
Pakistani global education campaigner Malala Yousafzai said Friday she was “honored” to win the Nobel Peace Prize along with Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
“This award is for all those children who are voiceless,” the Pakistani teenaged activist said.
The Pakistani Taliban shot Yousafzai in the head in 2012 for campaigning for girls education in Pakistan. She miraculously survived the attack and was given treatment at a leading hospital in the U.K., where she now lives.
The 17-year-old has become the youngest ever recipient of the international prize.
Speaking at the Birmingham central library, Yousafzai said she was “proud” to be the first Pakistani to win the prize.
“This award is not just a piece of metal or something to go on a wall. It is really something great for me,” she said.
“I felt more powerful and more courageous,” the Pakistani icon said.
She also said that she was “proud” to share the prestigious award with an Indian.
The activist urged children to “stand up for their rights.”
“I had two options; don't speak and wait to be killed; or speak up and then be killed,” she said in her address.
Malala said she was attending her Chemistry class in school when she heard the news, but wanted to finish her school day first.
The schoolgirl said that her lifelong objectives had changed, She no longer wanted to become a doctor but now dreamed of becoming a politician someday.
The winners of the price were announced in Oslo Friday morning during which the the
Malala said that she shared a phone call with Kailash Satyarthi and they both agreed to try and build strong relations between the two nuclear-armed countries.
She also invited Indian Prime Minister Narandra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Shareef to join both Nobel winners when they collect their prize.
Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjorn Jagland praised both activists "for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education."
About Malala, he 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."
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