Malala says she's no Western puppet, she's 'daughter of Pakistan'

Malala Yousafzai hit back at claims that she has become a figure of the West, insisting she was proud to be a Pakistani. The 16-year-old, who was shot by the Taliban for championing girls' right to an education, claimed she retained the support of people in her homeland, and reiterated her desire to enter Pakistani politics. The activist was shot in the head on her school bus on October 9 last year for speaking out against the Taliban. She was flown for specialist care in Britain, where she has continued her education, while she has been feted and honoured in the West.

On Thursday, she won the European Union's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize, while US President Barack Obama welcomed her to the White House on Friday. Asked in a BBC television interview broadcast Sunday about some people in Pakistan thinking she was a "figure of the West" and "a Westerner now", she said: "My father says that education is neither Eastern or Western. Education is education: it's the right of everyone."The thing is that the people of Pakistan have supported me. They don't think of me as Western. I am a daughter of Pakistan and I am proud that I am a Pakistani." "On the day when I was shot, and on the next day, people raised the banners of 'I am Malala'. They did not say 'I am Taliban'." "They support me and they are encouraging me to move forward and to continue my campaign for girls' education." She highlighted the problem of education in the midst of the Syrian conflict."We want to help every child in every country that we can," she said. "We will start from Pakistan and Afghanistan and Syria now, especially because they are suffering the most and they are on the top that need our help." "Later on in my life I want to do politics and I want to become a leader and to bring the change in Pakistan." "I want to be a politician in Pakistan because I don't want to be a politician in a country which is already developed."

Obamas welcome Malala to Oval Office

US President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle welcomed Pakistani schoolgirl activist Malala Yousafzai to the Oval Office on Friday. On the day she was passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize, the Obamas hailed Malala, 16, for her "inspiring and passionate" work on behalf of girls in Pakistan. "The United States joins with the Pakistani people and so many around the world to celebrate Malala's courage and her determination to promote the right of all girls to attend school and realize their dreams," a White House statement said. "We salute Malala's efforts to help make these dreams come true." The 16-year-old, who was shot by the Taliban for championing girls' right to an education, was overlooked for the prize, with the Nobel committee instead honoring the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Sakharov prize for freedom goes to Pakistan's Malala

The European Parliament's Sakharov prize for freedom of thought has gone to Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani advocate for female education who survived a Taliban gunshot to the head, lawmakers announced Thursday. "It takes an exceptional human being to stand up to a regime such as the Pakistani Talban and when that human being is a young 16-year-old girl then that bravery becomes breathtaking,” said Guy Verhofstadt, leader of the European Parliament’s Liberal Democrat group that nominated Yousafzai for the prize. “The recent renewed threats to Malala's life have showed that those who tried to harm her are becoming increasingly desperate as the world's attention turns to this exceptional young woman. She is a most worthy recipient of the Sakharov prize and richly deserves the nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize," he said in a statement. Joseph Daul, chairman of the European People's Party, the largest group in parliament, echoed Mr. Verhofstadt's feelings when he stated that "Malala personifies the fight for education for girls in areas where respect for women and their basic rights are completely ignored". "She is an icon of courage for all teenagers who dare to pursue their aspirations and, like a candle, she lights a path out of darkness," Daul added. The Sakharov Prize will be presented on November 20. Malala is also a favourite to win the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. Last year, the EU prize went to Iranian human rights activists Nasrin Sotoudeh and Jafar Panahi. The Sakharov Prize, named after prominent Soviet human rights activist and nuclear physicist, Andrey Sakharov, has been awarded by the European Parliament annually since 1988. Pakistani teenager shot by Taliban invited to Buckingham Palace Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenage activist who was shot by the Taliban last year, has been invited to Buckingham Palace, the Press Association reported Sunday. Malala, 16, will attend a reception on Youth, Education and the Commonwealth being hosted by Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip on October 18, the palace confirmed. Other guests will include teachers and academics. On October 9, 2012, Taliban gunmen shot Malala in the head on a girls' school bus in Pakistan's Swat Valley because of her public campaign for the right of all girls to education. Malala was flown a few days after the shooting to Britain, where she was hospitalized for months while recuperating and undergoing rehabilitation. She now lives with her family in Birmingham in central England, with her parents and two brothers. She is among the record 259 nominees for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, which is to be announced on October 11. Speaking on her 16th birthday in July at the United Nations, she said: "On October 9, they shot at the left side of my head and thought that bullets can silence me, but they failed." She told the UN Youth Assembly: "The extremists are afraid of books, of girls and boys going to school, and that is why they kill innocent people. They are afraid of change and equality." Malala vowed at the UN to continue her struggle for girls' education. "I do not want to be the girl who was shot by Taliban - I want to be the girl who fought for the rights of girls." Read more: http://voiceofrussia.com/news/2013_10_13/Malala-says-shes-no-Western-puppet-4695/