Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani young woman worthy of admiration. At the age of 17, she managed to be awarded with the Nobel Peace Prize along the Indian Kailash Satyarthi, both strong fighters against child oppression and for being great defenders of the right of all children to education. It is great the lesson we can get behind this award for both: Despite coming from neighboring countries that have a deep mutual distrust, with strong differences of religious belief, to the point of having deadly border clashes; these two young leaders have been able to fight for the same cause that one way or another, it gives a message of hope to other young people around the world that peace and education matter.
The strong battle for peace of Malala almost cost her her life when in 2012 she was fired by a Taliban, who sought to turn her voice off, a voice that strongly advocates Pakistani girls to have free access to education, equal rights and equal opportunities. The terrorists thought they would silence her desire and ambition, but the opposite happened: Malala came back with more strength, power and courage than ever to fight for what really matters. Despite this fact, Malala believes in peace; she believes in the forgiveness of those who wanted to kill her and simultaneously believes that education is more powerful than a knife and a gun.
The Talibans are afraid of education, because as Malala quotes "A pen is mightier than the sword." Education has a huge transformative power that would allow women, children and oppressed groups to defend their rights and bring the change and equality in society. Terrorists use the name of Islam for their own personal benefit, thereby damaging the true meaning of this religion, which is peace, humanity and brotherhood.
Furthermore, Malala mentions Muhammad, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Gandhi, Mother Teresa, among other social and religious leaders, as strong influences for her and the compassion in which she strongly believes.
It is inspiring to see such a young person to have the courage to defend the rights of women and girls' education, in a place with extremists and radicals. More leaders like her are necessary for the emergence of strategic policies for peace and prosperity, as she suggests in her call to governments, to really ensure free education, and to fight against terrorism and violence, protecting children from the brutality and harm.
Peace and unity are indispensable for education to exist. Many children in the Middle East are victims of constant wars that occur in their territories, and that's not fair. These children are waiting for a peaceful and bright future without poverty and terrorism, and as Malala says: "Education is the only solution."
Her humility and simplicity are pillars of her life, and this is just the beginning of a big fight for peace she's leading. She is just one of the many children who are oppressed, and she aims to be a spokesman for the voices of those children to be heard.
