Malala, Satyarthi receive Nobel Peace Prize
December 10, 2014, 3:08 pm

In Oslo, The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Wednesday awarded the prize to Yousafzai, above, and Kailash Satyarthi, 60, an Indian child rights activists who has long worked against child labor [Xinhua]

With Norwegian King Harald V in attendance at the Nobel ceremonies, both activists said they were determined to continue their struggles.

Yousafzai, 17, is the youngest recipient of the prestigious award.

Two years ago, Yousafzai survived a Taliban gunman’s shot to her head when she demanded that girls be allowed to attend school.

Since then she has become a global advocate of child – and female – education. She currently lives and studies in Birmingham, England for fear of returning to Pakistan.

The Nobel 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.

This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances.

Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ right to education.

During her acceptance speech, Yousafzai said she would continue to give voice to the voiceless, those “forgotten” children who seek change through education.

“I tell my story, not because it is unique, but because it is not. It is the story of many girls,” she said.

“I am here to stand up for their rights, raise their voice. It is not time to pity them. It is time to take action so it becomes the last time that we see a child deprived of education,” she said.

Satyarthi, a former engineer who has for three decades dedicated his efforts to combat illegal child labor, is the founder of Bachpan Bachao Andolan, or Save the Childhood.

“It has been calculated that there are 168 million child laborers around the world today. In 2000 the figure was 78 million higher. The world has come closer to the goal of eliminating child labor,” the Committee said of Satyarthi’s campaign.

Satyarthi has received a number of death threats as he sought to end child slavery.

“I’ve lost two of my colleagues. Carrying the dead body of a colleague who is fighting for the protection of children is something I’ll never forget, even as I sit here to receive the Nobel Peace Prize,” Satyarthi said,

Source: Agencies