OSLO, Norway: The Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai and the Indian campaigner Kailash Satyarthi have received Noble Peace Prize at an impressive ceremony held in the Norwegian capital Olso today.
The Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Peace Committee Thorbjorn Jagland awarded them the prize.
In his address at the ceremony, the Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Peace Committee described the laureates as champions of peace.
Jagland lauded the efforts of both the recipients against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.
The 17-year-old Malala is the youngest-ever Nobel Prize recipient, and has also received a host of awards, standing ovations and plaudits from the United Nations to Buckingham Palace.
“I am grateful for the letters and cards that I still receive from all around the world. Reading your kind and encouraging words strengthens and inspires me,” Malala said while addressing the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony.
“I am very proud to be the first Pashtun, the first Pakistani, and the first young person to receive this award,” she said.
“I am also glad that we (Satyarthi) can stand together and show the world that an Indian and a Pakistani can be united in peace and together work for children’s rights,” Malala said.
“This award is not just for me. It is for those forgotten children who want education. It is for those frightened children who want peace. It is for those voiceless children who want change,” she said.
“I am here to stand up for their rights, raise their voice … it is not time to pity them. It is time to take action so it becomes the last time that we see a child deprived of education,” the Nobel laureate said.
“I dedicate the Nobel Prize money to the Malala Fund, to help give girls everywhere a quality education…The first place this funding will go is where my heart is, to build schools in Pakistan, especially in my home of Swat and Shangla,” Malala said in her speech.
I also congratulate the young Malala Yousafzai for the momentous achievement.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 10, 2014
Malala Yousafzai was shot by Taliban gunmen on October 9, 2012 for campaigning for girls’ education as she made her way home from school in Swat Valley of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtankhwa province.
Also read: Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi named joint winners of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize
Meanwhile, President Mamnoon Hussain and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have congratulated Pakistani Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai.
In his message, the president said that the nation has proud of Malala Yousafzai. He expressed his pleasure on Malala for receiving Nobel Prize.
The prime minister in his message said that Malala is Pakistan’s envoy for peace in the world. He said that the dream of Malala regarding girls’ education shall be realized.
