Malala Yousafzay and Kailash Satyarthi win Nobel Peace Prize

Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzay and human rights activist Kailash Satyarthi have been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize for their struggle against the suppression of children and young people, and the right for universal education.

 

Satyarthi was praised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for “maintaining Gandhi's tradition” throughout his many peaceful protests and demonstrations, which focused on the exploitation of children for financial gain. 

 

Yousafzay, who was shot when she was going to school, was held up as having “shown by example that children and young people too can contribute to improving their own situations”. 

 

“This has been done under the most dangerous situations,” the committee said. “Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls' right to education. 

 

The committee highlighted how important it was that “a Hindu and a Muslim, an Indian and a Pakistani, to join in a common struggle for education and against extremism”.