Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai win Nobel Peace Prize
Kailash Satyarthi has worked for the last thirty years on saving children from labour and trafficking
Indian child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday the 10th of October, 2014 which he shared with Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the Taliban.
He gave up his career as an electrical engineer over three decades ago to start Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save the Childhood Movement. Today the non-profit organization he founded is leading the movement to eliminate child trafficking and child labor in India.
Says the Nobel Prize committee about the Prize motivation on Kailash Satyarthi and Malala Yousafzai and their selection for the most coveted prize in the world was: “for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”
In a statement, the committee said: “Despite her youth, 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.
Malala Yousafzai – the brave girl who even after being shot by Taliban survived a terrible ordeal and has been a big advocate and supporter of girl education
“This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education.”
Satyarthi, the Nobel committee said, had maintained the tradition of Mahatma Gandhi and headed various forms of peaceful protests.
“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,” the committee said. “He has also contributed to the development of important international conventions on children’s rights.”
The Nobel committee said it “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”.
There were a record 278 nominations this year, 19 more than ever before ”“ including US whistleblowers Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, Russian president Vladimir Putin, and Pope Francis. Also on the list of nominees was an anti-war clause in the Japanese constitution and the International Space Station Partnership.
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