Malala Yousafzai, who was born on July 12, 1997, is a student from Pakistan. She is famous for her campaign supporting the right of girls to go to school. In October 2012, she was the victim of an attack by religious fundamentalists who opposed education for women. After recovering from gunshot wounds, in 2014 Malala became the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The following is part of the speech she gave when accepting the award.
馬拉拉.優素福扎伊,出生於 1997 年 7 月12 日,是一名來自巴基斯坦的學生。她以推動支持女孩受教權聞名。2012 年 10 月她被反對女性教育的虔誠基本教義派份子攻擊,成為受害者。在從槍傷復原後,2014 年馬拉拉成為有史以來最年輕的諾貝爾和平獎得主。以下摘錄自她的得獎感言。
Today is a day of great happiness for me. I am humbled that the Nobel Committee has selected me for this precious award.
今天對我來說是無比快樂的一天。對於諾貝爾委員會頒給我這個珍貴的獎項,我愧不敢當。
This award is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change. I am here to stand up for their rights, to raise their voices. It is not time to pity them. It is time to take action so it becomes the last time that we see a child deprived of education.
這個獎項並不只是頒贈給我。而是給那些想受教育卻被遺忘的孩童。是給那些想要和平卻深感恐懼的孩童。是給那些想要改變卻無權發聲的孩童。在這裡,我要為他們的權利挺身而出,為他們大聲疾呼。現在不是可憐他們的時候。而是要採取行動的時候,這樣我們才不會再次看到兒童被剝奪受教育的權利。
I am just a stubborn person who wants to see every child getting quality education, who wants to see women having equal rights and who wants peace in every corner of the world.
我只是個固執的人,想要看到每一個兒童都能獲得有品質的教育,想要看到女性擁有同等的權利,也希望世界的每個角落都充滿和平。
Education is one of the blessings of life—and one of its necessities. That has been my experience during the 17 years of my life. In my paradise home, Swat, I always loved learning and discovering new things. I remember when my friends and I would decorate our hands with henna on special occasions. And instead of drawing flowers and patterns, we would paint our hands with mathematical formulas and equations.
教育是人生中最幸運的事之一,也是人生的必需品之一。在我十七年的人生中,一直深有此感。在我美如天堂的家鄉斯瓦特,我一直熱愛學習和發現新事物。我記得那個時候我和朋友們在特殊的場合會用紅色顏料裝飾雙手。我們在手上彩繪的不是花朵和圖騰,而是數學公式和等式。
We had a thirst for education because our future was right there in that classroom. We would sit and learn and read together. We loved to wear neat and tidy school uniforms and we would sit there with big dreams in our eyes. We wanted to make our parents proud and prove that we could also excel in our studies and achieve those goals, which some people think only boys can.
我們都渴望教育,因為我們的未來就在教室裡。我們會坐在一起學習和閱讀。我們喜歡穿著整潔的學校制服,坐在那兒眼中閃爍著偉大的夢想。我們想要讓父母感到驕傲,並證明我們也可以在課業上表現優異並達到那些被認為只有男孩子才能達到的目標。
But things did not remain the same. Education went from being a right to being a crime. Girls were stopped from going to school. When my world suddenly changed, my priorities changed too. I had two options. One was to remain silent and wait to be killed. And the second was to speak up and then be killed. I chose the second one. I decided to speak up.
但事情不會一直不變。教育從一項權利變成了一宗罪刑。女孩們被禁止上學。當我的世界突然改變,我的優先順序也改變了。我有兩個選擇。一個是保持沉默等待被殺。第二就是勇敢發聲然後被殺。我選擇了第二個。我決定大聲說出來。
I tell my story, not because it is unique but because it is not. It is the story of many girls. 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 have this right to go to school?"
我訴說我的故事,不是因為它很獨特,而是因為這不是個案。這是許多女孩的故事。有時人們喜歡問我:「為什麼女生應該要上學?為什麼對她們來說那很重要?」可是我認為比較重要的問題是「為什麼她們不應該有上學的權利?」
One of my very good school friends, the same age as me, who had always been a bold and confident girl, dreamed of becoming a doctor. But her dream remained a dream. At the age of 12, she was forced to get married. And then soon she had a child when she herself was still a child—only 14. I know that she could have been a very good doctor. But she couldn't...because she was a girl.
我在學校的好朋友之一,跟我同年紀,一直是個勇敢又有自信的女孩,夢想成為醫生。可是她的夢想只能是夢想。在她十二歲時,她被迫結婚。不久後她就生了孩子,當時她自己都還是個孩子--只有十四歲。我知道她可以成為一位非常好的醫生。可是她不能...因為她是個女孩。
Her story is why I dedicate the Nobel Peace Prize money to the Malala Fund, to help give girls quality education, everywhere, anywhere in the world and to raise their voices.
她的故事就是為什麼我把諾貝爾和平獎的獎金獻給馬拉拉基金會,以協助世界上每個地方、任何地方的女孩獲得有品質的教育,並為她們發聲。
I will continue this fight until I see every child, every child in school.
我會繼續這場奮鬥直到看見每個孩子,每個孩子都能入學。