Same goals
The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon congratulated Malala Yousafzai for her Nobel Peace Prize, saying: “With her courage and determination, Malala has shown what terrorists fear most: a girl with a book” (‘Nobel Peace Prize to Pakistan’s Malala and India’s Satyarthi,’ Gulf News, October 11). While the two activists share the prize, their respective countries remain locked in a border dispute that flared up violently this month. India and Pakistan — who have been featured as the joint winners of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for the first time — should take full advantage of the world’s attention on their countries. Since they are constantly in the spotlight together for reasons other than peace, the two winners should lead from the front in getting their two nations to embark on fresh talks to end their near seven-decade-old animosity. Yousafzai, the youngest winner ever, a girl who hails from the Swat Valley and who defied the Taliban, and Kailash Satyarthi are two very different people but they both have education and child empowerment as their main driving force. The duo’s historic win puts them alongside icons such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Albert Luthuli, Yasser Arafat, Jimmy Carter and Corazon Aquino!
From Mr A. R. Modak
Johannesburg
Making the world better
It was indeed wonderful to read that a girl who fought for education for all girls, and who is from my country, won the Nobel Peace Prize this year. Activists for children’s rights, Yousafzai and Satyarthi, are two deserving winners of this coveted prize. The winners symbolise the importance of relations between India and Pakistan. Awarding them shows how people from both countries have stood up for the common cause of educational rights. Yousafzai has proved herself to be an icon for education for girls, ever since she was shot by the Taliban. She has faced the situation boldly and expressed her demands and views on the issue, which is an ongoing one in Asia. She has shown that even when facing great challenges, one can be a hero when fighting for people’s cause. Satyarthi has showed great personal courage in staging various forms of protests and demonstrations — all peaceful — and focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children’s rights. The world would be a much better place if it had more people like them.
From Ms Maria Vincent
Dubai
On the right track
Children born in the slums see this world as a place where there is hunger, misery and depravity all around. Those that were born into wealthy families perceive this world as a place full of comforts, luxuries and abundance. There are some children who are forced into slavery at a tender age and they see this world as a place full of challenges, hardship and difficulties.
Therefore, when we find that there is someone who has passionately worked for years in making the lives of these children better, by removing them from slavery and putting their lives on a streamlined track, I think that such efforts need to be recognised, appreciated and emulated by everyone. We salute Satyarthi for his untiring efforts in improving the lives of several thousand children over the past two decades. His endeavours have rightfully earned him the coveted Noble Peace Prize. He has made all Indians proud with his achievement.
From Mr Suhas Inamdar
UAE
No judgements here
May God bless them both with happiness and health, for they have worked hard to better humanity. I believe and appreciate both of their principles. I would define what they have achieved as ‘mind blowing’. Surely, people will judge, but I don’t care what others think, I only care for their work! Remember one thing; if you educate a girl, you educate the nation and if you deprive a girl of education, the whole of society suffers.
From Ms Zarah Binth Rahman
UAE
Facebook comment
Nominee decisions
There are thousands of young men and women in Pakistan who I believe have done more for rights and education, but they are less popular. Yousafzai, who got shot in the head and survived, and has a father who runs schools, gets a Noble Peace Prize. But then again, US President Barack Obama too received the same prize and he was sending drones to achieve ‘peace’!
From Mr No’man Nasser
UAE
Facebook comment
Admirable contributions
It is great to note that the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Yousafzai and Satyarthi. Both winners have devoted their lives for the welfare of children. Working towards education for girls against the wishes of Taliban is admirable. Satyarthi fought against child labour, which is equally admirable. The world is proud of their contributions and salutes them.
From Dr M. L. Gupta
Dubai
Website comment
Educating youth
Despite Yousafzai’s tender age and threats from extremists, she has demonstrated indomitable courage to promote education for girls. Likewise, Satyarthi chose to give up a lucrative career as an engineer and has instead devoted his life to liberate millions of children from bonded labour and similar malpractices. Thanks to the untiring efforts of these stalwarts, the countries will hopefully have a more educated and enlightened youth, particularly from the weaker sections of society. This has a lot of potential to make the world a better place to live.
From Mr Rajiv Sehgal
UAE
Not a good argument
I was surprised to read the comments from one of the participants in the Speak Your Mind debate last week, on gender equality (‘Focus: Is gender equality possible?,’ Gulf News, October 10). If someone argues that only women can do a job like giving birth to create new life, one can see how well such a person understands Nature and its requirements. For argument’s sake, one can say that without the contribution of men, how can one expect women to give birth? However, I find that such arguments are immature to begin with and besides the point. A topic like ‘gender equality’ has been in focus for several years and discussed in various forums. It is always a debatable subject, especially when the number of women taking up jobs in higher positions is growing. Those who argue for gender equality must realise that everyone cannot be an Indra Nooyi, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs or Arundhati Bhattacharya.
From Mr Ramachandran Nair
Oman
Encouraging women
The Dubai Police VIP Protection Unit deserve some recognition for their services (‘Dubai Police VIP Protection Unit a testament to women power,’ Gulf News, October 11)! Think of the hardships they experienced during the course of training. I salute the UAE authorities for taking the initiative to involve women in this field. Good luck to all and I hope this will encourage more women to participate.
From Ms Gay Marie
Abu Dhabi
Website comment
Proud of initiative
It really seems that the women involved have to undergo very rigorous training. Congratulations to all the women who have passed with flying colours — I’m sure it wasn’t easy. This is an admirable new initiative by the UAE authorities and I am proud of it.
From Mr Darpan
Doha, Qatar
Website comment
Following dreams
Women are often perceived as being weak and in need of protection, but these women are out to prove these notions wrong. These women are extremely skilled and have ventured into a profession thought to be only suitable for men. I would like to praise the leaders of the UAE, who have always encouraged women to follow their dreams and supported them in whatever they endeavour to achieve.
From Ms Shaniya Seddiqi
Sharjah
Action for fake Haj permits
I am sure the authorities will take strict action against the culprits who have given out fake Haj permits to UAE pilgrims (‘100 UAE Haj pilgrims scammed,’ Gulf News, October 13). These people are making money and fooling pilgrims. I think that the money should be given back to the people who have already suffered trying to do their pilgrimage.
From Mr Prem
Dubai
Website comment
Sad circumstances
Really sad to know how lost the pilgrims were on the occasion. The authorities should hunt down the scammers who have done this and give them hard punishments. I can imagine the humiliation and agony they must have gone through.
From Ms Asma Sid
Dubai
Website comment
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