Afghan teen wins children’s prize for rights fight

AMSTERDAM: A teenager who narrowly escaped after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan three years ago, on Tuesday won the prestigious KidsRights Prize for her fight for women´s rights.

Nila Ibrahimi, 17, followed the likes of environmental activist Greta Thunberg and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai to claim the International Children´s Peace Prize.

“Ibrahimi, an Afghanistan-native, residing in Canada, is courageously fighting for the rights of girls and women in her home country,” organisers said at an event in Amsterdam.

“After recording a powerful protest song that went viral online, she continues to inspire other Afghan girls to assert their rights and stand up to the injustices they face via public speaking and advocacy at global events,” said KidsRights, the Dutch children´s rights foundation behind the initiative.

“Winning the International Children´s Peace Prize will mean that the voices of Afghan women and girls will echo across the world,” Ibrahimi said.

“We must all continue to give them strength and hope in the darkest of times,” she added in a statement after receiving the award.

Ibrahimi last year talked about how her family escaped to Pakistan five days after the fall of Afghanistan. She now lives in Canada.