The Nobel Peace Prize 2014 has been jointly awarded to Malala Yousafzai, from Pakistan, and Kailash Satyarthi, from India. “This is good news for Pakistan,” said Ataurehman Saman, a Catholic researcher and the Director of the Pakistan Episcopal Conference’s National Justice and Peace Commission.
“It focuses attention once again on the issue of women’s rights and the right to an education.” Malala, whom the Taliban tried to assassinate when she was only 12 years old for defending the right of girls to receive an education, is the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and the 46th woman to receive the award.
Co-recipient of the prize, 60-year-old Kailash Satyarthi is a hero in the struggle against child slavery in India: through his efforts at least 80,000 children have been freed from bondage and reintegrated into society. The activists were singled out by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for their struggle against the suppression of children and for the right of all children to an education.