Two renowned names from Pakistan Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy and Malala Yousafzai have been awarded with Asia Game Changer Award recently for their endless struggles for the awareness of people especially women toward education and abusive behaviors they face from society. Work of these two wonderful ladies brought the world's attention towards different problems of common people from Pakistan and many other countries via different modes of communication from many platforms.
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy may be best known for winning an Oscar — Pakistan’s first — for her 2012 documentary Saving Face, a gripping look at the survivors of acid violence. But the journalist and filmmaker has been telling the stories of marginalized communities since the age of 14.
A star of Asia Society’s Asia 21 young leaders network, Obaid-Chinoy’s work often centers on human rights and women’s issues. She has worked with refugees and the disenfranchised from Saudi Arabia to Syria to Timor Leste to the Philippines. By bringing typically unheard voices to the forefront, she has often helped bring critical change to these communities. Obaid-Chinoy has made award-winning films in more than 10 countries around the world, winning several Emmys and other awards along the way.
“By bringing the voices of the ordinary people faced with extraordinary challenges to television screens around the world, I hope to affect change in one community at a time,” Obaid-Chinoy once said.
Never was this more true than with Saving Face, which brought Pakistan’s acid violence against women problem to the world stage. Said fellow Oscar winner Angelina Jolie, “I dare anyone to watch this film and not be moved to tears and inspired into action.”
Malala Yousafzai
When Malala Yousafzai was asked what she wanted to do for her 17th birthday earlier this year, she did not hesitate with her answer. The Pakistan native wanted to go to Nigeria and campaign for the release of more than 200 missing schoolgirls who had been kidnapped by the militant Islamist movement Boko Haram. The girls’ supposed offense? Simply wanting to go to school.
Malala, a strong advocate of education herself was just 11 when she started speaking out against the Taliban and for her right to go to school. She was only 15 when a Taliban gunman boarded a school bus and shot her in the head. The assassination attempt failed. While the Taliban intended to kill an innocent girl who simply wanted to right to an education, they instead gave birth to an extraordinary global movement.
The 2012 shooting resulted in a massive outpouring of support for Malala, which continues to this day. Wise beyond her years, Malala has been able to channel her celebrity into advocacy for the education of girls worldwide. Unfortunately, the Taliban still considers Yousafzai a target. Despite the threats, Yousafzai remains a staunch advocate for the power of education. The Malala Fund, named in her honor, now offers girl-centric approaches to education that support the goal of creating a world where every girl reaches her true potential. On October 10, 2014, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
“The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions,” Malala has said, “but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear, and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage were born.”
Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy may be best known for winning an Oscar — Pakistan’s first — for her 2012 documentary Saving Face, a gripping look at the survivors of acid violence. But the journalist and filmmaker has been telling the stories of marginalized communities since the age of 14.
A star of Asia Society’s Asia 21 young leaders network, Obaid-Chinoy’s work often centers on human rights and women’s issues. She has worked with refugees and the disenfranchised from Saudi Arabia to Syria to Timor Leste to the Philippines. By bringing typically unheard voices to the forefront, she has often helped bring critical change to these communities. Obaid-Chinoy has made award-winning films in more than 10 countries around the world, winning several Emmys and other awards along the way.
“By bringing the voices of the ordinary people faced with extraordinary challenges to television screens around the world, I hope to affect change in one community at a time,” Obaid-Chinoy once said.
Never was this more true than with Saving Face, which brought Pakistan’s acid violence against women problem to the world stage. Said fellow Oscar winner Angelina Jolie, “I dare anyone to watch this film and not be moved to tears and inspired into action.”
Malala Yousafzai
When Malala Yousafzai was asked what she wanted to do for her 17th birthday earlier this year, she did not hesitate with her answer. The Pakistan native wanted to go to Nigeria and campaign for the release of more than 200 missing schoolgirls who had been kidnapped by the militant Islamist movement Boko Haram. The girls’ supposed offense? Simply wanting to go to school.
Malala, a strong advocate of education herself was just 11 when she started speaking out against the Taliban and for her right to go to school. She was only 15 when a Taliban gunman boarded a school bus and shot her in the head. The assassination attempt failed. While the Taliban intended to kill an innocent girl who simply wanted to right to an education, they instead gave birth to an extraordinary global movement.
The 2012 shooting resulted in a massive outpouring of support for Malala, which continues to this day. Wise beyond her years, Malala has been able to channel her celebrity into advocacy for the education of girls worldwide. Unfortunately, the Taliban still considers Yousafzai a target. Despite the threats, Yousafzai remains a staunch advocate for the power of education. The Malala Fund, named in her honor, now offers girl-centric approaches to education that support the goal of creating a world where every girl reaches her true potential. On October 10, 2014, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
“The terrorists thought they would change my aims and stop my ambitions,” Malala has said, “but nothing changed in my life except this: weakness, fear, and hopelessness died. Strength, power, and courage were born.”
No comments:
Post a Comment