An Afghan teenager living in Canada, who recorded herself singing in protest against the Taliban regime, won the International Children’s Peace Prize on Tuesday, November 19, awarded in Amsterdam by the organization KidsRights.
Nila Ibrahimi, 17, follows in the footsteps of environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai in winning the prestigious award.
“Nila Ibrahimi, originally from Afghanistan and residing in Canada, courageously fights for the rights of girls and women in her home country”organizers said at a ceremony on Tuesday in Amsterdam.
Defying the ban on singing in public
“After recording a powerful protest song that went viral on the Internet, she continues to inspire other Afghan women to assert their rights and oppose the injustices they face by speaking out in public and defending their rights. cause at international events »said KidsRights, the Dutch children’s rights foundation behind the initiative.
Taliban authorities in Afghanistan have applied an austere interpretation of Islamic law since their return to power in August 2021. Women and girls are most affected by these restrictions: they are prohibited from studying beyond school primary school, to go to parks, gymnasiums or beauty salons, and they are advised to only leave their homes accompanied by a male chaperone.
In March 2021, when the Kabul education directorate issued a discriminatory order banning schoolgirls over the age of 12 from singing in public, Nila Ibrahimi, then 13, recorded a video of herself singing a popular song, to encourage other girls to defend their education and their rights.
A protest song went viral on the Internet
The video then went viral on social media, galvanizing others to protest, and leading to the Afghan government’s repeal of the ban within three weeks. Since last summer, a morality law has banned Afghan women from speaking out loud in public.
The United Nations has described this situation as« apartheid des sexes »but the Taliban government rejects these statements, calling them “unfounded” and of “propaganda based on the words of a few women on the run”.
“By winning the International Children’s Peace Prize, the voices of Afghan women and girls will resonate around the world”said Nila Ibrahimi shortly after receiving the award. “We must all continue to give them strength and hope in the darkest times”she added.
The teenager and her family fled to Pakistan five days after the Taliban took over Afghanistan. The young girl now lives in Canada, where she co-founded « Her Story »an initiative to provide a safe platform for young Afghan girls to share their stories.
Nila Ibrahim was selected from 165 candidates from 47 countries. Her prize was awarded to her by Yemeni journalist and human rights activist Tawakkol Karman, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2011.
