Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani activist espousing education for girls said Wednesday that she was glad she received the Nobel Peace Prize together with India's Kailash Satyarti because it showed the world that an Indian and a Pakistani could work together for children's rights.
"I am also honoured to receive this award together with Kailash Satyarti, who has been a champion of children's rights for a long time... I am also glad that we can stand together and show the world that an Indian and a Pakistani can be united in peace and together work for children's rights," said Malala in her acceptance speech here.
She dedicated her award to the "voiceless" children of the world "who want change". "This award is not just for me, but for those forgotten children who want education."
"We decided to raise our voice and tell the Taliban that in the Quran it is mentioned that if you kill one person, you kill humanity. Neither their ideas nor their bullets could win. Since then, our voices have grown louder and louder. I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is not."
She said modernisation and development have not meant the same for the entire world. "Today, in half of the world, we see rapid progress, modernisation and development. However, there are countries where millions still suffer from the very old problems of hunger, poverty, injustice and conflicts.
"Indeed, we are reminded in 2014 that a century has passed since the beginning of the First World War, but we still have not learnt all of the lessons that arose from the loss of those millions of lives a hundred years ago," Malala said.
She called for the world leaders to unite and make education their top priority.
The Nobel Prizes are presented every year Dec 10, the death anniversary of Alfred Nobel.
