Update: Check out this video of "Ricochet (Malala's song)" written in support of Malala -- and of my petition.

All Malala wants to do is go to school. She almost died for it.



On October 9, 2012, Malala Yousafzai was gunned down for the “crime” of going to school. Today the world stands with this remarkable girl, a girl so brave she stood up to the Taliban, a group so evil they stalk and murder innocent children for the “sin” of seeking education.

Tarek Fatah of Canada started a petition to nominate Malala for the Nobel Peace Prize; petitions from Germany, England and France have swiftly followed. I want my country, the United States of America, to join in this historic moment of empowerment for girls and women everywhere.

As an educator and board member of a non-profit dedicated to providing educational opportunity to children in South Sudan, I know first-hand the value of education for all children. I stand with Malala in her passion; I ask the citizens of the United States to stand with her too.

These are bold times for girls and women. Girls are going to school in places where it was unthinkable a generation ago. Women fill the jobs of doctor, lawyer, and politician. Travesties of justice – rape, battering, “honor” killings, sex slavery, servitude, genital mutilation – are no longer in the closet. The world knows the truth now.

Yet there is much to do, as Malala’s wounds attest. The hopes and dreams of girls throughout the world are no longer hidden – silent, muffled, afraid. Civilization is at the crossroads of opportunity to accept this call to action.

This is why I am asking Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to nominate Malala Yousafzai for a Nobel Peace Prize.

By nominating Malala Yousafzai, these global leaders will send a clear message: We stand with Malala and with girls everywhere in their fight for the right to equal opportunity through education.