Tens of thousand of Britons have called on the government to nominate young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Ms. Yousafzai is currently recovering in a hospital in Birmingham, England, after being shot by Pakistani Taliban on her way home. They had taken issue with her advocating girls’ rights to education. She was in critical condition after the widely condemned attack, prompting doctors to transfer her to a facility abroad where she can fully recover “physically and psychologically”.
More than 30,000 people have signed the petition, led by a Pakistani-British woman, urging Prime Minister David Cameron and other government officials to nominate the 15-year old for the Nobel Peace Prize.
“Malala doesn’t just represent one young woman, she speaks out for all those who are denied an education purely on the basis of their gender,” Shahida Choudhary, campaign leader, said in a statement issued by Change.org.
Only prominent figures such as members of national assemblies and governments are able to make nominations for the award.
Yousafzai has become a “powerful symbol of resistance to the Taliban’s attempts to suppress women’s rights” for speaking out against the insurgents at a young age, including her internationally acclaimed BBC diary.
