The Fifth Mother Teresa International Award for Social Justice was conferred this year on Sima Samar, the former vice-president of Afghanistan, and on Mala Yousufzai, the Pakistani teenager who was shot by the Taliban for defending the rights of women.
In bestowing the award, Abraham Mathai, president of the Harmony Foundation, which organizes this annual event, said that the two women were chosen above all for their courage, which led them to risk their lives to defend their ideals.
The Harmony Foundation was set up in October 2005 by Abraham Mathai to disseminate peace and dialogue among people of different religions, castes, races and ethnic groups. It also provides financial assistance to community groups and agencies that share its goals. In 2007, the Foundation inaugurated the International Award for Social Justice in memory of Mother Teresa of Calcutta.