In a ceremony held today in Amsterdam, Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights activist Tawakkol Karman has presented the 2024 International Children's Peace Prize to Nila Ibrahimi, a young Afghan activist.
Established in 2005 by the KidsRights organization, the prize recognizes outstanding contributions by children under the age of 18 and includes a €100,000 award and significant international recognition.
Three remarkable young individuals competed for the award: Adhi Daiv, 18, from India; Sarah Shelke, 16, from the United States; and Nila Ibrahimi, a 17-year-old Afghan girl residing in Canada.
Tawakkol Karman's presentation of the International Children's Peace Prize underscores her strong commitment to empowering young people, particularly in conflict zones, and her unwavering dedication to human rights, especially the rights of children.
During the ceremony, Tawakkol Karman, who served as a member of the expert committee for the International Children's Peace Prize in 2017, delivered a speech emphasizing the urgent need to protect children and advocate for their rights in war zones.
At the event, Ms. Karman presented the International Children's Peace Prize 2024 to Afghan youth activist Nila Ibrahimi. This recognition underscores Nila's significant contributions to advocating for the rights of children and her relentless efforts to create a better future for youth in Afghanistan.
Karman described Nila as a fearless advocate for girls' and women's rights in the face of discrimination. She noted that Nila's singing movement, launched in defiance of a ban on schoolgirls singing, successfully challenged the government and led to the repeal of the ban within three weeks.
Karman highlighted Nila's courage in continuing her activism even after the Taliban's rise to power, a feat praised by the expert committee. In addition, she highlighted the resilience of Nila Ibrahimi, who, despite being forced to flee Afghanistan, has not given up her fight or lost hope.
Recognizing her impact, Karman noted that through her advocacy efforts and initiatives, Nila has become the voice and symbol of faith for Afghan girls and women whose rights to education and participation are being violated.
Highlighting the urgency, Karman emphasized that Nila's fight is especially critical now, as new discriminatory laws in Afghanistan ban girls and women from speaking, singing, and being heard in public.
In a powerful moment, Karman congratulated Nila on winning the International Children's Peace Prize 2024 for her remarkable initiatives and fearless advocacy in fighting for the rights of millions of girls.
Highlighting ongoing injustices, she pointed out that various human rights violations continue to occur in Afghanistan, while also drawing attention to the situation in Iran, where mullahs similarly deprive women and the Iranian people of their rights.
Emphasizing the distinction, Karman stressed that these individuals do not represent Muslims or Islamic teachings, asserting that they attack the core values of Islam, which is fundamentally a religion of peace, love, coexistence, and moderation.
She lamented that every religion has its share of fanatics, like the Taliban in Afghanistan and the mullahs in Iran, but emphasized that these extremists do not represent the great people of their faith. She reiterated that the Taliban do not represent Muslims, just as the Iranian regime does not represent the Iranian people.
As Nila and her colleagues continue to combat extremism in the pursuit of girls' education, Karman urged recognition of the widespread suffering faced by girls, women, and children globally due to various forms of oppression, including war and occupation.
She concluded to cite ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, and Congo, underscoring that war, conflict, injustice, occupation, extremism, and terrorism primarily attack human rights and the right to education.
Here is the complete text of the speech:
Hello everybody. Salamu alaykum—peace be upon all of you. I'm so happy to be here with you and honored to be a member of the expert committee for the International Children's Peace Prize.
I am truly honored, and I’m grateful to have the opportunity to choose some of you. We will have plenty of time to chat after this ceremony. I will start with the announcement and then share a few remarks.
The expert committee congratulates the finalists of the International Children's Peace Prize 2024: Sarah Shelke from the USA, Adhi from India, and Nila Ibrahimi from Afghanistan, for their tireless and timely efforts to advance the rights of children.
These three young individuals are remarkable, and we expect a lot from each of you. No matter who wins, all of you are winners and the real leaders of today and tomorrow. You are not just the leaders of the future; you are the leaders of today.
After thoughtful consideration and discussion, are you ready? Are you ready? Okay. The expert committee has decided to award the International Children's Peace Prize 2024 to Nila Ibrahimi from Afghanistan.
A big congratulation also to our other winners, Sarah and Adhi, but first and foremost, to Nila. Thank you, Nila. She has been a fearless advocate for the rights of girls and women facing discrimination.
Nila defied the ban on schoolgirls singing by starting the singing movement in Afghanistan, using her powerful protest song and beautiful voice to challenge the government and successfully push for the repeal of the discriminatory ban within three weeks. The expert committee appreciates Nila's courage as she stood tall against all odds, even after the Taliban came to power.
Despite being forced to flee Afghanistan, Nila didn't give up her fight or lose hope. Through her advocacy efforts and initiatives, she has become the voice and faith of all Afghan girls and women whose rights to education and participation are being violated.
Nila's fight is even more crucial now, as new discriminatory laws in Afghanistan ban girls and women from speaking, singing, and being heard in public. For her remarkable initiatives and fearless advocacy in fighting for the rights of millions of girls, on behalf of the expert committee, I congratulate you, Nila Ibrahimi, for winning the International Children's Peace Prize 2024.
Yes, I’m so proud of you, Nila, and I’m proud of every girl around the world who fights, sacrifices, and struggles for her dreams: for education, health care, the environment, justice, peace, equality, and the rule of law. We have many role models globally, and as an expert committee, we have encountered very strong stories; all of these individuals deserve to be winners.
A big round of applause to all the kids around the world who are truly making change. People often ask me why I am so optimistic about the future amid all the chaos. It's because I know that these young people—many of whom were once children and still are—are the ones who will lead us into the future.
All these children around the world truly carry the responsibility; they genuinely care about their future and the future of their societies and the world.
And Nila, we had many nominees from Afghanistan—so many, and they are truly brave. Some of them are boys, but most are girls. When we discussed the nominees, we had significant concerns about their situation in Afghanistan.
They are in Afghanistan, which made us really concerned about their safety. Now, you represent those brave girls and boys in Afghanistan who fight for justice, equality, freedom, education, health care, development, and love.
So keep going in this effort and don’t give up. Don’t give up. You represent them, and all of you—Sarah, Adhi—hello Adhi from India, I’m so proud of you—continue your important work. Again and again, when we honor you and present your prize, we are affirming that you young people will be the leaders of the future, the true leaders and rulers of tomorrow.
So let me tell you about the Taliban, against whose discrimination Nila fought. The Taliban is preventing girls and women from accessing education and basic rights in Afghanistan.
It’s not just girls who are suffering; all Afghan people are suffering from these extremists, especially girls and women, who are denied everything, especially education, because they are afraid of women; they are afraid of both boys and girls.
All kinds of human rights violations occur in Afghanistan. Additionally, there are fanatics in Iran—specifically, mullahs—who also deprive women and the Iranian people of their rights.
There are two types of fanatics, and I, as a Muslim, want to emphasize that these individuals do not represent Muslims or Islamic teachings. They attack the core values of Islam, which is a religion of peace, love, coexistence, and moderation.
Unfortunately, every religion has its share of fanatics, such as the Taliban and the mullahs in Iran. This is true for every religion and every country. However, these extremists do not represent the great people of their faith. The Taliban do not represent Muslims, just as the Iranian regime and its mullahs do not represent the Iranian people.
As Nila and her colleagues fight against extremism for girls' education, we must recognize that many girls, women, and children around the world are suffering from other forms of oppression, including war and occupation.
These three issues—war, oppression, and occupation—attack the lives of women and girls first and foremost, as well as their rights to education and health. Wars and occupations deeply affect people, and the primary victims are often women and girls.
Wars are occurring in Gaza and Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Lebanon, Yemen, and Congo—they are everywhere. War, conflict, injustice, occupation, extremism, and terrorism primarily attack human rights and the right to education.
As a result, the first things they destroy are schools and universities, attacking the rights of women, girls, and children to access education. Therefore, we must work together to stop wars, extremism, and occupation.
Lastly, we are here in the Netherlands, a country of great significance. I am proud of it, especially because it hosts two important international institutions: the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
So, you people of the Netherlands, you here in Holland, need to put in a lot of effort to make these two institutions work hard to stop wars and hold war criminals accountable. I believe in you, and I think the Netherlands should really take this seriously. Thank you so much, and congratulations, Nila; congratulations to all of you, and thank you very much.
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