YELLOWKNIFE (October 15, 2014) – Minister Responsible for Women Bob McLeod offered his congratulations to Malala Yousafzi on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize along with Kailash Satyarthi, Indian children’s rights advocate.

“Malala Yousafzi went against the accepted beliefs of some people in her society that says girls are of lesser value,” said Premier McLeod. “In doing so she became a target for life-threatening violence.”

An outspoken advocate for girls’ education, Yousafzi was critically injured in 2012, when a gunman shot her in the head while she was riding home on a school bus in Pakistan. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack. Yousafzi now lives in England and according to media reports continues to receive death threats.

In a media interview after the prize was announced Malala Yousafzi said, “I had really two options. One was not to speak and wait to be killed. And the second was to speak up and then be killed.”

“And I chose the second one, because at that time there was terrorism; women were not allowed to go outside of their houses, ’cause education was totally banned. People were killed. At that time, I needed to raise my voice, because I wanted to go back to school.”

“Silencing the voices of women and girls can take many forms,” Premier McLeod said. “It ranges from overt violence to belittling comments and everything in between. Malala highlights for us how many females are struggling for personal safety.  We all have a role to play in ensuring women and girls have a voice and are free from violence.”

Premier McLeod recently spoke at the NWT launch of Family Violence Awareness Week and the Take Back the Night March. The Government of the Northwest Territories works in close partnership with the Coalition Against Family Violence (CAVF) which organized many of the Family Violence Awareness Week events.  CAFV is a territorial interagency group that brings together non-government and government agencies to share information and undertake projects that work to reduce the incidence of family violence in the NWT.

Media inquiries:

Brenda Norris
Media Liaison
Government of the Northwest Territories
Tel: 867-669-2302
Email: brenda_norris@gov.nt.ca