UNITED NATIONS, (MILLAT ONLINE/APP): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio
Guterres Monday designated Pakistani education activist and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai as a UN Messenger of Peace with a special focus on girls’ education.
At 19, Yousafzai is the youngest Messenger of Peace, the highest
honour given by the United Nations. She was also the youngest person to win the Nobel peace prize in 2014 when she was 17.
“You are not only a hero, but you are a very committed and generous
person,” Guterres told Yousafzai in the Trusteeship Council Chamber, which was packed to capacity with youth representatives from around the world. UN Deputy Secretary-General Amina J. Mohammad, senior UN officials and diplomats were among those attending.
Also present was Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, who later
hosted a largely attended reception in honour of Malala Yousafzai in a UN lounge.
Accepting the accolade, Yousafzai profusely thanked the UN chief for
the honour.
“I’m getting this award, but I also want to represent Pakistan, my
country, because I want people to know that this is me representing Pakistan, not extremists and terrorists– they are not Pakistan, they are not us,” she said. “It’s girls like me, who stand in that country who believe in education; it’s girls like me who are Muslim and are proud of their religion who stand for education, who believe in education. All Muslim girls believe in education and believe in peace.”
In his remarks, Secretary-General Guterres also praised Pakistan’s
generosity for hosting millions of Afghan refugees. “We live in a world where so many borders closed; so many doors are closed, but Pakistan has received millions refugees with open borders, open doors and hearts” open a symbol of generosity.”
He hoped this spirit could serve as an example that “it is not by
closing doors that we will all be able to move forward.”
Guterres told Yousafzai, “You have been to the most difficult
places ” visited several refugee camps. Your foundation has schools in Lebanon, in the Beka’a Valley,” while noting that as a former physics professor he felt emotional facing the “most famous student of the world.”
“You are a symbol of perhaps the most important thing in the world,
education for all,” he added.
UN Messengers of Peace are distinguished individuals, carefully selected
from the fields of art, literature, science, entertainment, sports or other fields of public life, who have agreed to help focus worldwide attention on the work of the global Organization.
Backed by the highest honour bestowed by the Secretary-General on a
global citizen, these prominent personalities volunteer their time, talent and passion to raise awareness of UN’s efforts to improve the lives of billions of people everywhere.
Other current Messengers of Peace include actor Leonardo di Caprio, for
climate change, actor Charlize Theron, whose focus is prevention of HIV and elimination of violence against women, and actor Michael Douglas, whose focus is disarmament.
The Pakistani education activist came to prominence when a Taliban
gunman shot her in the head in 2012 as she was leaving school in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. She was targeted for her campaign against efforts by the Taliban to deny women education.
On her part, Yousafzai underscored the importance of education,
especially education of girls, for advancing communities and societies.
“Bringing change” starts with us and it should start now,” she
said, adding: “If you want to see your future bright, you have to start working now [and] not wait for anyone else.”
Following the official presentation, Secretary-General Guterres and
Yousafzai conversed with youth representatives from around the world on the theme of girls’ education.
Taking a question from a young speaker in the audience, Yousafzai
said the most difficult time she faced had been from 2007 to 2009 in the Swat Valley, “because we were at a point of making a decision about whether to speak out or remain silent. And I realized that if you remain silent, you are still going to be terrorized. So speaking out, you can help people.”
While recovering from the Taliban attack, she realized that
“extremists tried everything to stop me [and the fact that they didn’t] is clear evidence that no one can stop me. I have second life for the purpose of education and I’ll continue working on [this issue].
Yousafazi went on to say that brothers and fathers must also support
women and girls in the global effort to ensure education for all and, more importantly, “be who they want to be.” Indeed, she has that her father always told people not to ask him what he did for Malala, “but as what I didn’t do “I didn’t clip her wings.”
“I stood here on this stage almost three and a half years ago and I
told the world that education is a basic human right of every girl I stand here again today and say the same thing: education is the right of every child and especially for girls, this right should not be neglected,” Yousafzai said upon accepting the role.
Over 130 million girls are out of school today. Girls often lack access
to education because they have to work, care for younger siblings, or are married early. Many also face violence, posing additional barriers for school attendance.
Beyond issues of education, Yousafzai has also been an outspoken
advocate on issues of conflict and refugees.
On the escalation of violence in Syria, she stated: “To the children
under siege in Aleppo, I pray that you will get out safely. I pray that you will grow up strong, go to school and see peace in your country some day. But prayers are not enough. We must act. The international community must do everything they can to end to this inhumane war.”
Most recently, Yousafzai condemned the US executive order banning
people from several Muslim-majority countries, writing that she is “heartbroken” and asking President Donald Trump to not turn his back on families fleeing violence and war.
I’m a Muslim and proud to be a Muslim” I think people
should look at me and all of the other 1.6 billion Muslims who are living in peace and believe in peace rather than looking at a few terrorists they are not us,” she said during the designation ceremony.
She also deplored western media’s attempt to associate Islam with
terrorism, saying that 1.6 Muslims around the world believe in peace and justice.
Asked about the role of feminism in Islam, Yousafzai said Islam
advocated equality and therefore equal rights for males and females.
Both Yousafzai and Guterres noted the challenges that refugee families
face in camps.
Worldwide, approximately 50 percent of refugee children have access to
primary education. The gap widens as children grow older with 22 percent having access to secondary education and less than 1 percent with access to universities. In Lebanon alone, only half of Syrian refugee children can go to school.
“This shows how little the international community is doing to educate
refugee children,” Guterres said.
“It is our responsibility, especially in the richest countries, to
express our solidarity to all those who unfortunately cannot provide to their children the education they have the right to receive,” he continued.
The Malala Fund helps fund schools around the world, including education
programs in the Za-atari and Azraq refugee camps in Jordan.