Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi Win Nobel Peace Prize

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has announced that Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi will be honored with the Nobel Peace Prize this year. The award will be shared between Yousafzai and Satyarthi, who both advocate for protection against child slavery, extremism and child labor. 

Yousafzai, a 17-year-old Pakistani, will be the youngest recipient of the award. The young Muslim gained international attention in 2012 after surviving a Taliban attack. Yousafzai was shot in the head after arguing with a militant that girls should have the same educational opportunities as boys; she miraculously survived the shooting. 

Satyarthi, a 60-year-old man from India, has been working to end child labor and slavery since 1980.

Satyarthi said, "Child slavery is a crime against humanity. Humanity itself is at stake here. A lot of work still remains but I will see the end of child labor in my lifetime.” 

Yousafzai was appropriately in school when the Committee announced she would be honored with the award. Her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, said that the prize would help his daughter’s work. 

"(The Nobel will) boost the courage of Malala and enhance her capability to work for the cause of girls' education," he said.

The $1.1 million prize will be divided between Yousafzai and Satyarthi and officially awarded on Dec. 10. 

Alfred Nobel, the founded of the Nobel Peace Prize, said the prize should be given to "the person who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."

Publication date: October 10, 2014