Malala Yousafzai’s appointment will promote peace with a special focus on girls’ education
United Nation Nobel Peace award holder Malala Yousafzai has been assigned a new designation ‘Messenger of Peace’ in UN. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed Malala Yousafzai a UN Messenger of Peace on Monday.
Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai appointment is the youngest Messenger of Peace will help to promote girls education.
Malala a 19-year-old Pakistani activist, who was attacked by Taliban gunman in 2012 Swat Valley, when she with other school friends were leaving school.
Malala called herself a proud Muslim, stressed that Islam means peace, and expressed great disappointment that the media refers every day to “Islamic terrorists and Islamic jihadists” fighting in the name of Islam. “And then people blame the whole Islam,” she said.
She said that ” the extremists tried to kill her but didn’t succeed and in her second life she is keeping up her fight for education especially for girls – and hoping men and boys will become advocates for gender equality”.
“You are not only a hero, but you are a very committed and generous person,” Guterres told Yousafzai.
dmiring your courageous defense of the rights of all people including women and girls to education and equality [and] honoring the fact that you have shown, even in the face of grave danger, the unwavering commitment to peace…it takes great pride and pleasure in proclaiming Malala Yousafzai a United Nations Messenger of Peace,” Guterres added.
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.
Yousafzai has become a regular speaker on the global stage and visited refugee camps in Rwanda and Kenya last July to highlight the plight of refugee girls from Burundi and Somalia.