Source:The Irish Time via Wasim Sr.
I don’t know why the Nobel prize committee decided against giving an award to Malala Yousafzai, who until last week had been favourite to win. It presented the gong instead to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, a recipient only slightly more thrilling than last year’s European Union.
But whatever its reasons, for once it has made the right call.
Not that Malala was not a worthy contender. She has wisdom, strength and courage way beyond her 16 years. Her story – schoolgirl campaigner and blogger who was shot in the head by the Taliban 12 months ago and has made a miraculous recovery – has powerful resonance, and she has the determination and the skills to use it for good.
For those of us in the West, with our penchant for black-and-white narratives featuring good guys and bad guys, Malala’s story has obvious appeal. In Hollywood terms, she’s the like an Erin Brockovich of the Swat Valley – only instead of a big team of pushy lawyers, the bad guys have guns.
Categories: Europe
“When you make someone a hero like that, you also make them a target – they become a symbol of western influence, and they become delegitimised in their own country. Who so ever said this is right.