The first week of announcements by the Swedish Academy has come to a close, with what many consider the top award handed out: the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winners are young women's education activist Malala Yousafzai from Pakistan and Indian children's right activist Kailash Satyarthi. The theme behind the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winners seems to be children's rights: Malala is known for speaking out internationally about the right to education of young Muslim women and Satyarthi is one of the world's most important advocates behind the end of child labor.
It is no surprise that Malala is one of the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winners, as her name had been among favorites since 2013. The teenage girl - at 17, she's the youngest Nobel recipient in history - became a public figure in her country and later the entire world.
Malala started out writing a blog for the BBC in 2009, under a pseudonym, talking about how the Taliban was keeping girls away from education in her village, and later went on to start speaking out publicly about little girls' right to education; her activism made her a target with the Taliban, and the now Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winner was shot three times and left in critical condition back in 2012. Afterwards, she became even more prominent and people across the world showed their support to Malala, who has turned into one of the most iconic political activists in the world.
Her fellow Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winner, Kailash Satyarthi, is a retired schoolteacher in his native India. In 1980, he gave up teaching to start a crusade against child labor in his country, founding Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) - the Save Childhood Movement, which has single-handedly brought to centre-stage the debate on child rights in India, according to India's Yahoo News. He's also the man behind Goodweave, which certifies child labor-free rugs and provides assistance to children who are at risk.
The message the Swedish Academy is transmitting to the world with the Nobel Peace Prize 2014 winners is clear: it's time to give children a chance.
