Photo: Kailash Satyarthi.net and www.lakesideconnect.com
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2014 will be awarded to Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Yousafzai is the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
As stated on http://nobelpeaceprize.org, 17 year-old, Malala Yousafzai has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.
showing great personal courage, Kailash Satyarthi, maintaining Gandhi’s tradition, has headed various forms of protests and demonstrations, all peaceful, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain. He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children’s rights.
The Nobel Committee regards it as an important point for a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism. Many other individuals and institutions in the international community have also contributed.
The struggle against suppression and for the rights of children and adolescents contributes to the realization of the “fraternity between nations” that Alfred Nobel mentions in his will as one of the criteria for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Photo: Kailash Satyarthi.net and www.lakesideconnect.com