Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani teenage activist shot by the Taliban and who is tipped as Nobel Peace Prize contender, talked with comedian John Stewart on his satirical news program "The Daily Show" on Tuesday (October 8). The 16-year-old, who was shot in the head by the Taliban exactly a year ago on October 9th for demanding education for girls, gave a speech at the United Nations in July saying she would not bow to "terrorists" who thought they could silence her. The saga of her recovery from the attempted assassination and her promotion of women's education and peace has tipped her as a favorite for the peace prize among experts and betting agencies. This week her book, which tells her story and the story of the Taliban's control of the Swat Valley in northern Pakistan, was released. "We are human beings and this is the part of our human nature -- that we don't learn the importance of anything until it is snatched from our hands. And when in Pakistan we were stopped from going to school, at that time I realized that education is very important and education is the power for women and that's why the terrorists are afraid of education," Malala told Stewart as they discussed her book, "I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban." The usually sarcastic and humorous Stewart was sympathetic and serious in his discussion with Malala, though he managed to pepper the discussion with a few jokes. "Our freedom was taken from us, the women's freedom," said Malala explained about life under the Taliban, which took control of her native Swat Valley in 2004. "We were just kept imprisoned. We were just limited to the four walls of our house. Women's rights were denied at that time and that's why I spoke. Because I believe in equality and I believe there is no difference between a man and a woman. I even believe that a women is more powerful than a man," she said. "Whoa, wait, whoa, what? You know, Malala, this was going so well. You were doing so beautifully and then suddenly, bam!" joked the Comedy Central host. When Malala went to describe an inner dialogue she had about how she might confront the Taliban with a peaceful rebuke after she learned they had threatened her life, Stewart joked he wanted to adopt her. "I know your father is backstage and he's very proud of you, but would he be mad if I adopted you because you sure are swell?" said Stewart with smile. This week, the Nobel accolades in Stockholm will go also to medicine, physics, chemistry and economics, while Oslo will name the peace prize winner on Friday (October 11). The annual prizes created in the will of dynamite tycoon Alfred Nobel were cut by 20 percent to 8 million crowns ($1.20 million USD) last year as returns on its roughly $450 million (USD) fund fell amid years of global financial downturn.

• published: 11 Oct 2013
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