The Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Thorbjørn Jagland announced the Nobel Peace Prize winners Friday in Oslo. The winners were both a Hindu and a Muslim and they shared a common fight for education and against extremism.
Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, who were Pakistan's and India's children's rights activists respectively, are the Nobel Peace Prize winners this year. Yousafzai is a 17-year old teenager and is the youngest ever recipient of the prize. According to The Guardian, Yousafzai was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winners for their struggle against suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.
According to a CNN report, the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winner Malala Yousafzai grabbed worldwide attention after she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman while riding home on a school bus in Mingora City two years ago, for her campaign to promote education for Pakistani girls. Since then, she has taken her struggles to the global platform after recovering from surgery. She also remarkably delivered a speech at the United Nations last year.
The Norwegian Prize Committee chairman said that because of Yousafzai's heroic battle, she has become a leading spokeswoman for girls' rights to education. After the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winners, the Malala Fund, which was set up to advocate girls' educations, stated via a social media post that Yousafzai would give her first statement after classes end Friday. She is currently attending a school in Birmingham, England.
"Thank You all Support And Love...! #Nobelpeaceprize #StayBless," Yousafzai said via Twitter.
Meanwhile, Yousafzai also shared the Nobel Peace Prize to fellow winner and activist Kailash Satyarthi, a 60-year old former electrical engineer who gave up his career to advocate against child labor and exploitation. As said by Reuters, Satyarthi has headed several forms of peaceful protests and rallies which were focused on the exploitation of children for financial advantages.
BBC News reported that the Nobel committee said that Satyarthi had maintained the practice of Mahatma Gandhi and headed for various forms of peaceful protests. Satyarthi dedicated his prize to children in slavery. He founded "Bachpan Nabchao Andolan," or "Save the Childhood Movement," which advocates for child rights and to eradicate human trafficking.
"It's a great honour for all the Indians, it's an honour for all those children who have been still living in slavery despite of all the advancement in technology, market and economy. And I dedicate this award to all those children in the world," Mr. Satyarthi told BBC.
This year, the Nobel Committee received a record 278 nominations, 47 of which were for organizations.
The two Nobel Peace Prize winners were praised and applauded by several world leaders and officials. They were described as "the world's greatest children's champions." Aside from the recognition, Yousafzai and Satyarthi will also receive a cash prize of £690,000 (8 million kronor or $1.11 million), which will be presented in Oslo on Dec.10.
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