Tuesday, October 14, 2014

Malala-the pride of the nation

Malala Yousufzai a Swati girl who emerged on the world horizon for her human rights advocacy for education and women in the war-torn FATA where the Taliban had banned girls from going to school, finally won Nobel Peace Prize for Pakistan. Coincidentally, Kailash Satyarthi, who has fought against child slavery and exploitation of children in India, was declared joint winner of the Award for the year 2014. They were chosen for the prize amongst a list of 278 nominees. Incidentally, it was longest list of nominees ever. Raised in one of the under-developed part of Pakistan, Malala, just 17 is now the youngest Nobel Prize winner ever, has become one of the towering personalities of the world. The two will share the $1.11million prize to be awarded in Oslo on Dec 10. The Nobel Peace Prize winners comes from the countries who sharing a hostile history and are considered as the most dangerous enemy states equipped with nuclear weapons and on the top of that both are engaged in heavy shelling and bombing even today.
Thus the two Award winners wasted no time in floating the idea of bringing the leadership of two warring states together at the prize ceremony in Stockholm in December where they would be given awards. Certainly, it is a good idea that needs world support to break the ice and end their aloofness of the two states.
At least the arch rivals will come back to the talking terms. The volatile spiral on the Line of Control and Working Boundary has jeopardized the regional peace and more so the future of millions children living in there. After their first meeting, the two award winners also expressed their resolve to build a relationship between India and Pakistan where they will make a joint effort to ensure education and justice for every child. Amidst the on-going military confrontation in the subcontinent, the Nobel Award winners have pumped in some fresh breeze in an atmosphere where the peoples on the both sides of the border are forced to breath in a stinky air.
Their persuasion to the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan for peace is welcome move and a significant contribution that will cherish peace desire of millions of people living on the both sides of the strain border. In days to come, the two joint winners-Malala and Satyarthi-may form a strong voice for children living in total despair and extreme poverty.
If Malala has become a role model for millions of disadvantaged girls in India and and Satyarthi will become beacon for millions of children who are facing nightmare in their early childhood in Pakistan as well.
If the two work together against the bonded labour and for education, they will become a force to reckon with for unheard children irrespective of origin, caste and religion.
By all means, their success is a lovely surprise for the both nations after all they are pride of their respective nations; and if she succeeds in hosting a Nawaz-Modi moot, her contribution to resolving border conflict between India and Pakistan will write new leaf in the history of the subcontinent.

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