Outrage Vs Relief As Malala Fails To Win The Nobel Prize

Malala Yousafzai, the favorite to win the Nobel Peace Prize, would have become the youngest laureate to date. "In Pakistan I was Malala, simply Malala."

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who was shot by the Taliban last year, may not have won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday but she will undoubtedly continue to be a force on the world stage advocating education for girls.

Her near-death experience and her eloquence and bravery in the face of ongoing threats has inspired fans worldwide, including Jon Stewart, who gushed during her appearance this week on The Daily Show: "I don't know where you came from, but I sure am glad you're here."

Until the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was announced as the winner, Malala was the favorite to win.

I will be shocked if Malala doesn't win the Nobel Peace Prize. I want to be her when I grow up. Amazing.

Belle Calhoune

@BelleCalhoune

I will be shocked if Malala doesn't win the Nobel Peace Prize. I want to be her when I grow up. Amazing.

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I want her to win the Nobel peace prize ! I'm rooting for ya Malala!

s.jaayyyyy

@JafferySana

I want her to win the Nobel peace prize ! I'm rooting for ya Malala!

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Good Luck to #Malala Yousufzai.Hope,she will win the #nobel peace prize & make us all proud.If she wins,all girls who want to study will win

Sharafuddin Mahmud

@metalloid_emon

Good Luck to #Malala Yousufzai.Hope,she will win the #nobel peace prize & make us all proud.If she wins,all girls who want to study will win

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Yet some were unsure if they wanted her to win:

A part of me doesn't want Malala to win the Nobel Prize for fear of the reactions she'll get in her own country.

Umair Javed

@umairjav

A part of me doesn't want Malala to win the Nobel Prize for fear of the reactions she'll get in her own country.

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I don't want Malala to win the #NobelPeacePrize. It doesn't deserve her.

Josh Shahryar شهريار

@JShahryar

I don't want Malala to win the #NobelPeacePrize. It doesn't deserve her.

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No I don't want Malala to win the #NobelPeacePrize ! We need people who have worked hard and not made silly statements ..

Aakash Rathi

@desinazi

No I don't want Malala to win the #NobelPeacePrize ! We need people who have worked hard and not made silly statements ..

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When she didn't win, many were shocked:

Very disappointed #Malala didn't win the Nobel peace prize. Nobody in the world right now is a more powerfully eloquent advocate for peace.

Piers Morgan

@piersmorgan

Very disappointed #Malala didn't win the Nobel peace prize. Nobody in the world right now is a more powerfully eloquent advocate for peace.

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Many disappointed that Malala didn't win the Nobel Peace prize. I agree but she is just starting. She is full of light.

JORGE RAMOS

@jorgeramosnews

Many disappointed that Malala didn't win the Nobel Peace prize. I agree but she is just starting. She is full of light.

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Very sad to see Malala didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize... Such an inspiration! #Malala4Nobel

James Reese

@jameslr2014

Very sad to see Malala didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize... Such an inspiration! #Malala4Nobel

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What do you mean Malala Yousafzai didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize?

kale

@kalechipz69

What do you mean Malala Yousafzai didn't win the Nobel Peace Prize?

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So gutted Malala didn't win the Nobel. She has in my heart.

Anastasia Scott

@AnastasiaScott

So gutted Malala didn't win the Nobel. She has in my heart.

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Others saw it as a blessing in disguise:

To be fair, giving Malala the peace prize at her young age would have been heaping enormous pressure on her.

Ben Miles

@wwodb

To be fair, giving Malala the peace prize at her young age would have been heaping enormous pressure on her.

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Malala is too young to win the Nobel prize for peace, not because she doesn't deserve it, but because she is too young for the pressure.

Erick Enriquez

@ErickEnriquezR

Malala is too young to win the Nobel prize for peace, not because she doesn't deserve it, but because she is too young for the pressure.

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Possibly good for #Malala. The pressure on a 16-year-old of winning a #Nobel Prize could have been stultifying http://t.co/XIBmd4RiNr

david pilling

@davidpilling

Possibly good for #Malala. The pressure on a 16-year-old of winning a #Nobel Prize could have been stultifying http://t.co/XIBmd4RiNr

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In the lead up to the Nobel Prize announcement, many worried about the pressure it would put Malala under, from concerns over who was influencing her to concerns that she wasn't getting the time to be a "normal teenager."

It is often easy to forget that Malala, so strong and put together, is also a teenager. What makes her so extraordinary is the very thing we seem to forget: she is only 16 years old, something hard enough on its own without being an international peace icon, a target of the Taliban and the youngest nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking to the BBC, Malala explained that she misses her friends and her home in Pakistan:

"I love my home and I miss it and I now realise how beautiful Swat is and how precious Pakistan is. I'll come home as soon as possible but first I have to empower myself with knowledge, I need to study hard and equip myself with the weapons of education. So yes, I'll be back as soon as possible and I'll continue my campaign for education."
"Here they consider me as a good girl, the girl who stood up for children's rights and the girl who was shot by the Taliban. They never look at me as Malala, as their friend, and as a normal girl. In Pakistan I was just Malala, simply Malala."
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