Don't deserve Nobel yet, says Malala
Malala Yousafzai, the teenage activist nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, says she has not done enough to deserve the award, as her old school closed yesterday to mark the first anniversary of her shooting by the Taliban.
The 16-year-old was shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban on October 9 last year for speaking out against them. She has gone on to become a global ambassador for the right of all children to go to school.
Feted by world leaders and celebrities for her courage, she has addressed the UN, this week published an autobiography, and tomorrow will learn if she has won the Nobel Peace prize.
But in an interview with Pakistani radio station City89 FM, Malala spoke of her desire to do more to promote education, saying she felt she had not yet earned the Nobel accolade.
"There are many people who deserve the Nobel Peace Prize and I think that I still need to work a lot. In my opinion I have not done that much to win the Nobel Peace Prize," she said.
Malala first rose to prominence with a blog for the BBC Urdu service chronicling the difficulties of life under the rule of the Taliban, who controlled Swat from 2007 until they were kicked out by the army in 2009.
While Malala has enjoyed acclamation around the world, in Pakistan the response to her rise to stardom has been more sceptical, with some accusing her of acting as a puppet of the West.
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