Malala Yousafzai, a vociferous and undaunted Pakistani activist for girls education is the 2014 Noble Prize winner, the youngest ever.
Excited, articulate and poised Malala delivered a speech from the heart touching on the invaluable importance of "girls' education which is the right of every girl and not just the boys." She indefatigably supports girls. This is not altogether popular in Pakistan and is systematically opposed by the Taliban. A spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban called Yousafzai a "beloved servant" of "infidels" who was awarded the Nobel "for her services to them."
Her speech is spirited, personable and accessible even as she talks about how she hoped to be a doctor but now, thinking more strategically, she wants to be a politician so she can stay on target and advance the rights of girls.
Malala shared the prize with an Indian educator Kailash Satyarathi who is also deeply vested in stopping child labor. Malala highlighted the importance of working together across the Indo-Pakistan border -- this could be an enormous asset in terms of advancing peace between the two neighboring countries. The two Nobel Prize winners could potentially advance the cross border peace agenda by collaborating effectively to negate the saber rattling, an ongoing deterrent to peace and progress between India and Pakistan. Malala and Kailash are going to invite their respective Prime Ministers, Nawaz Sharif and Narendra Modi (who congratulated their two winners) to come to Stockholm to join them when they receive the Prize in December.
Seventeen-year-old Malala thanks her atypical father for "not clipping her wings"and supporting her dreams to be educated. She believes vociferously in Children's Rights to "quality education, a happy life" and wisely counsels children globally "to stand up for their rights!"