The Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai has used her Nobel peace prize acceptance speech to launch a searing attack on "strong" governments that had the resources to begin wars but not to enable universal education.
Speaking at the Nobel peace prize ceremony in Oslo she said: “Why is it that countries which we call strong are so powerful in creating wars but are so weak in bringing peace? Why is it that giving guns is so easy, but giving books is so hard?”
Raising her voice in the silent room, where she was given a rousing standing ovation at both the beginning and end of her speech, she added: “We are living in the modern age and we believe that nothing is impossible. We have reached the moon 45 years ago, and maybe we will soon land on Mars. Then, in this 21st century we must be able to give every child a quality education.”
At the glittering ceremony, attended by dignitaries from around the world including the Norwegian royal family but not the prime ministers of India or Pakistan, Malala was joined by young female activists from around the world.
“I tell my story, not because it is unique, but because it is not. It is the story of many girls,” she said, pointing to her “sisters” in the crowd.
She joked that although she was only 5ft 2in tall – in heels – she was not a lone voice. “I am many [...]I am those 66 million girls who are deprived of education - and today I am not raising my voice, it is the voice of those 66 million girls,” she said.
“Sometimes people like to ask me, why should girls go to school? Why is it important for them? But I think the more important question is: why shouldn’t they? Why shouldn’t they have this right?”
Malala, now 17, became the youngest winner of the prize after the Nobel committee acknowledged her “heroic struggle” for girls’ right to an education. She was shot by a Taliban gunman in 2012 after drawing attention to her own plight and the plight of girls like her, to get an education.
After being shot she was airlifted to Queen Elizabeth hospital in Birmingham, where she was treated for life-threatening injuries. Following her recovery she has become a household name – speaking before the UN, meeting Barack Obama, being named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people and publishing the memoir I am Malala while continuing her education in Birmingham. She was jointly awarded the prize with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian child rights campaigner.
Mr Satyarthi, (60), dedicated his prize to children in slavery. He founded Bachpan Bachao Andolan – or the Save the Childhood Movement – in 1980 and has protected the rights of 80,000 children and brought attention to a scourge that continues today. It was a momentous day, he told the audience when "a young courageous Pakistani girl has met an Indian father and an Indian father met his Pakistani daughter".
He recalled rescuing an eight-year-old girl from slavery. “When she was sitting with me in my car, she asked me: ‘Why did you not come earlier?’ Her angry question still shakes me and has the power to shake the whole world. What are we doing? What are we waiting for?”
Announcing the prize in October, the Nobel committee said: “Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzai has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations.
“This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.”
Of the joint award, the committee said it “regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism”.
Speaking before the ceremony Malala revealed that she hoped to pursue a career in politics and become prime minister of Pakistan. “I want to serve my country and my dream is that my country becomes a developed country and I see every child get an education,” she told the BBC.
She hailed Benazir Bhutto – a woman who twice served as Pakistan's prime minister before her murder in 2007 – as an inspiration. "If I can serve my country best through politics and through becoming a prime minister then I would definitely choose that," she said.
At a joint press conference with Mr Satyarthi on Tuesday, the 17-year-old said she was disappointed that the prime ministers of India and Pakistan were not attending the award ceremony. But she said it was an honour to stand alongside veteran child rights campaigner Satyarthi, and reiterated her view that every child should have access to a decent education.
“I had this wish from the beginning to see children going to school and I started this campaign,” she said.
“Now this peace prize is very important for me and it has really given me more hope, more courage, and I feel stronger than before because I see many people are with me. There are more responsibilities but I have also put responsibilities on myself. I feel I am answerable to God and to myself and that I should help my community. It’s my duty.”
Guardian service