Children Win as Malala and Satyarthi Accept Nobel Peace Prize

Today two champions of the human rights of children, Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Malala, a Muslim activist from Pakistan, was shot in the head at age 15 by the Taliban for speaking up for girls’ right to education. She continues to advocate for girls worldwide, including the Nigerian schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram this spring. At 17, she is the youngest ever Nobel Laureate.

Satyarthi is a Hindu based in New Delhi who has worked tirelessly against child slavery and forced labor in India for decades.

The pairing of these human rights defenders highlights a common cause – protecting children from extremism, slavery, and child labor – between activists in nations that have often clashed. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon declared, “The true winners today are the world’s children.”

Children are often vulnerable to human rights abuses, whether it be trafficking or as refugees. Today’s Nobel winners indicate that the global community has not forgotten them.