Inevitably, perhaps, conspiracy nuts and internet trolls have emerged from under their rocks to attack Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai.
Yousafzai was awarded the prize today in recognition for her courageous promotion of education for women in Pakistan. (She shares the prize with Indian children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.) In 2012, she was shot in the head by the Taliban, apparently for blogging in favor of education for girls. After a miraculous recovery, she deftly used the international attention to step up her advocacy.
But that’s not good enough for the trolls. Some Pakistanis have long resented the attention Malala has received—they argue she does her country a disservice by spotlighting its social ills.
Others even question her inspirational story, accusing it of being a ploy cooked up by the CIA or Mossad:
@atifzia Most likely CIA & MOSSAD attacked Malala! Nobel Prize has no more worth than tissue paper. Life long mass murderer Begin got it!
— Anwar Ul Haque (@DrHaque) October 10, 2014
And then there’s a cohort of Pakistanis who would have preferred the prize go to Abdul Sattar Edhi, a well-known doctor and humanitarian. The hashtag #NobelPrizeForEdhi has scores of his supporters.
#NobelPrizeForEdhi
Edhi has rescued over20k abndned infants,rehabilitatedover50k orphen&trained over 40k nurses.runs over350welfare centres— Yasier (@gujjar629) October 10, 2014
When It comes to distributing Nobel Prize, Western world always ignores our real heroes! Edhi sahb deserves it most #NobelPrizeForEdhi
— Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan (@DrAQ_Khan) October 10, 2014
What a waste of the Nobel prize. Just because she was attacked by TTP Malala gets the Nobel prize. Non sense. #NobelPrizeForEdhi
— Palwasha (@PalwashaaN) October 10, 2014
The purpose beyond #NobelPrizeForEdhi is a message to Western Media that Pakistan appreciates It’s heroes, even If you don’t do so!
— Maan Imran Khan (@MaanImranKhan) October 10, 2014
Edhi’s supporters are irked that Malala, just 17, got the prize ahead of the 86-year-old Edhi, who’s been running his foundation for over 6o years.
Satyarthi has not attracted as many haters, perhaps because he’s not nearly as famous—many who live in his New Delhi neighborhood have never heard of him. Nonetheless, some have alleged that his nongovernmental organization is not all that it’s cracked up to be.
Others are directing their displeasure toward the Nobel Prize committee itself, for playing politics with the award:
The Nobel Peace Prize committee, having disgraced itself by hastily honoring Obama, stoops to play the Indian-Pakistani, Hindu-Muslim game.
— Brahma Chellaney (@Chellaney) October 10, 2014
Nobel committee tips its hand in why they gave this award:want to equate religious extremism in Pakistan &India when there’s no comparison.
— rupa subramanya (@rupasubramanya) October 10, 2014
Still, there are plenty of people on Twitter that celebrate the accomplishments of both activists, and don’t see the point in picking sides.
A lot of shameful talk about Malala by some who are tweeting #NobelPrizeForEdhi stop to think for a minute, how would Edhi treat Malala?
— Shakeel Ahmed (@5H4K3EL) October 10, 2014
Moment of Silence for Trolls.
#Malala 1 – 0 TTP & Apologists #MalalaWinsNobel— BK (@BilawalKhoso) October 10, 2014
Twitter trolls are attacking Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai
