ISLAMABAD – Just one year and two days since she was shot in the head at point blank range by Taliban gunmen, Malala Yousufzai could become the youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
The 16-year-old is up against 258 other nominees for this year’s award – but she is arguably the favorite, and certainly the most well-known.
Malala has had a remarkable year, beginning when she was targeted as she left school in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. It was the Taliban's attempt to silence her increasingly prominent voice on the need to provide women with education.
The bullet passed through her head, neck and shoulder, leaving her unconscious and in critical condition. But following multiple surgeries, she survived and was released from a U.K. hospital last March. Since then, despite further threats on her life from the Taliban, her message on education rights for women has been as fearless as ever.
In an interview with NBC News on the eve of the Nobel announcement, a Taliban spokesman said the group thinks she will win the prize.
“Even if she becomes the president of the United States, it will not be a surprise to us,” Shahidullah Shahid said.
“We knew what she was doing and what she had planned for the future and that’s why we decided to eliminate her last year.”
The Taliban on Tuesday vowed to try to kill Malala again, promising "all out" efforts to punish her relationship with the West.
And on Thursday Shahid said Malala’s suggestion Pakistan and the Taliban should engage in peace talks was a ploy.
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