“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I will defend to the death, your right to say it.”
Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai
and Indian children's right activist Kailash Satyarthi, won the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize
on Friday. Malala, a former Sakharov Prize winner, came
under the spotlight after she was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for defending
better rights for girls, in Pakistan. At 17, she has become the youngest ever Nobel Prize
winner. The EU, who won the award in 2012, congratulated
the winners and urged world leaders to increase their fight for children's access to education.
“We are delighted for Malala, who so courageously stood up for her rights and paid a high price
for something that many in our countries take for granted.
In recognition of her fight for equal access to education, Malala was also awarded the Sakharov prize in 2013, joining former winners
such as Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi. 'Let us change the ideology of being powerful,
the powerful countries shall not be judged by counting their soldiers and navy, but rather
we must see which country has the higher literacy rate, which country has more educated people,
which country has provided their basic rights to citizens.'
Despite going through one of the worst crises
in decades and repeated scenes of social unrest across the continent, the European Union won
the Nobel peace prize in 2012. The Norwegian prize committee awarded the
27-nation bloc for its 60 years of contributions to peace and reconciliation, democracy and
human rights in Europe. The Nobel peace prize is worth 1 million euros
and will be handed out on December 10th in Norway.