Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Malala Yousafzai

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, is a co-recipient of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.

You may recall that Malala Yousafzai captured the world's attention when, in 2012, two brave, young Taliban fighters stopped the bus in which the girl was riding. One of them muscled his way into the school bus crowded with school children, courageously announced his intention to shoot them all if Malala did not identify herself -- and when she did, he heroically shot the defenseless, unarmed schoolgirl in the face at point-blank range. (A couple of other children were also wounded.) Somehow, Malala survived.

And the heinous crime committed by Malala that justified the Taliban's attempt to murder her? She had the temerity to blog about her desire to stay in school and receive an education on a BBC-sponsored, Urdu-language website.

The New York Times reported on October 13, 2012, just days after the botched murder attempt, that both Malala and her father remained on the Taliban's hit list. The Times article, by Declan Walsh, with Sana ul Haq and Ismail Khan contributing from Pakistan, stated,

Sirajuddin Ahmad, the spokesman for the Taliban in the Swat Valley, said that Ms. Yousafzai became a target because she had been "brainwashed" into making anti-Taliban statements by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai.

"We warned him several times to stop his daughter from using dirty language against us, but he didn't listen and forced us to take this extreme step," he said.

Both father and daughter remain on the Taliban's list of intended victims, he said.

But Malala has not been silenced by the Taliban's actions or it's threats.

Instead, on her 16th birthday, just last year, Malala was able to address the United Nations General Assembly:

"The extremists were, and they are, afraid of books and pens," [said] Malala, who was wearing a pink shawl that belonged to assassinated Pakistan leader Benazir Bhutto. "They are afraid of women."

She called on politicians to take urgent action to ensure every child has the right to go to school.

"Let us pick up our books and pens," Malala summed up. "They are our most powerful weapons.

"One child, one teacher, one pen and one book can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first."

And today, Malala Yousafzai is announced as a winner of the Nobel Peace Price. Sometimes there is justice in the world.