Malala, Satyarthi in Oslo to attend Nobel Peace Prize ceremony tomorrow

campaigner for girls’ education invites five 'remarkable and inspiring' girls to join her at ceremony

OSLO, NORWAY: Malala Yousafzai arrived in Oslo, Norway, on Tuesday to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony tomorrow, where she will be honoured along with her co-winner Indian children rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.

Addressing the media, along with Satyarthi, Malala said that those who stand against education are "indoctrinated, but not educated"

"I believe Islam is a religion of peace and humanity. However, some people know they are Muslims but they do not understand their religion," Malala said.

"They (the people who are fighting against education) need to get a real education of Islam, and they need to study it," Malala, the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner, said.

"Islam is about learning new things and discovering the world that is education," she said in response to a question.

Sathyarthi, during the press conference, referred to Malala as his "daughter", to which she jokingly replied, "I feel really honoured to be sitting here with my father."

She went on to say, "It is a great honour to be sitting with a person who has been struggling for children’s rights. We are not here just to accept our award, we are here to tell children that they need to stand up and struggle for their rights," she said.

She said children should be provided with education as that is all they request.

"It is a simple request. They are not asking for iPads, they are just asking for a book and a pen. Why can't we just give them that? It would change the world."

Malala invites five global champions to Oslo

Meanwhile, the Malala Fund announced on Tuesday that the young campaigner for girls’ education has invited five remarkable and inspiring girls to join her at Wednesday’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.

For this first-ever Nobel Peace Prize “Girl Delegation”, Malala, the youngest Nobel winner ever, will be joined in Oslo by Shazia Ramzan, Kainat Riaz and Kainat Soomro from Pakistan, Mezon Almellehan from Syria and Amina Yusuf from Nigeria.  The young women will be Malala’s special guests as she accepts the award at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony to be held on December 10.

“Though I will be one girl receiving this award, I know I am not a lone voice,” said Malala.

“This Nobel Peace Prize is for all girls everywhere who want an education. These courageous girls are not just my friends, they are now my sisters in our campaign for education for every child.”

Malala's long-time friends Shazia Ramzan, 16, and Kainat Riaz, 17, were also shot during the Taliban attack on Malala in 2012 as the girls were on their bus home from school. After Shazia and Kainat recovered from their wounds, they were awarded scholarships to attend school in the United Kingdom, where they are one year into their studies.

In response to Malala’s Nobel Peace Prize win and invitation, Shazia said, “I am very happy that Malala is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. This is an honour for Malala, for all Pakistani people and for education. Thank you, Malala, for letting us share this special moment with you, our friend.”

“I am very excited that I am going to Oslo. I so wanted to be there when Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize,” said Kainat Riaz. “Malala is my friend, and she is very brave. I will always support her. This is a big very honour for her and for us and for Pakistan.”

Kainat Soomro is a young Pakistani woman, fighting for justice eight years after being sexually assaulted. She escaped after three days in captivity and continues to receive death threats as she seeks to prosecute her attackers. Malala recently befriended Kainat, and they will meet in person for the first time in Oslo when Kainat joins Malala for the Nobel Peace Prize events.

“Malala’s struggle has encouraged me to start my education that I missed out on for so many years,” said Kainat Soomro. “I hope that Malala’s Nobel award will provide me an opportunity to highlight the injustices meted-out to me and the courage to continue fighting such injustices becoming fate of other young girls in Pakistan.”

Mezon Almellehan, 16, is a Syrian refugee and education advocate. Malala and Mezon became friends when Mezon led Malala on a tour of a sprawling Syrian refugee camp, Za’atari, in Jordan in February. They visited classrooms, and Mezon explained how she goes from tent to tent encouraging girls to join her in going to school. As a result, some news reports dubbed Mezon the “Malala of Syrian refugees”. Mezon’s family has recently moved to a new refugee camp in Jordan, Azraq.   The Malala Fund currently supports education programs for Syrian refugee girls.

“Malala’s visit gave me great strength to overcome obstacles no matter how much they are. And it made me realise that I should not let these obstacles stop me, even if they might destroy me or destroy many girls who are subjected to injustice by their families and society. My visit gives me the strength to support others for the sake of peace and stand up for their rights, which they might be denied because of problems that they did not create and cannot solve on their own,” said Mezon.

Last but not least is Malala’s friend from Nigeria, Amina Yusuf. Amina, 17, lives in northern Nigeria, where Boko Haram’s anti-education terror is rampant. She grew up in a community where girls rarely attend secondary school. After graduating from secondary school, Amina received a scholarship from the Centre for Girls’ Education where she serves a mentor for young girls. Amina and Malala first met during Malala’s visit to Nigeria in July of this year. The Malala Fund now supports Centre for Girls’ Education programs.

“My friends and I are proud that a young girl like us, Malala, is receiving such an admirable prize. We are challenged by this and hope to serve our community and nation at large better. This is really inspiring. My joy knows no bounds!” concluded Amina.

On October 10, 2014, the Norwegian Nobel Committee named Malala and Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi as 2014 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates in recognition of their struggle against the oppression of young people.

At 17 years old, Malala is the youngest recipient of this honour.