14 DAY TRIAL // The Nobel Committee has named Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi as the winners of this year’s Peace Prize.
“Children must go to school and not be financially exploited. In the poor countries of the world, 60% of the present population is under 25 years of age. It is a prerequisite for peaceful global development that the rights of children and young people be respected. In conflict-ridden areas in particular, the violation of children leads to the continuation of violence from generation to generation,” the Committee said.
Kailash Satyarthi has worked to maintain Gandhi’s tradition and has headed various forms of peaceful protests and demonstration, focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain.
“Despite her youth, Malala Yousafzay has already fought for several years for the right of girls to education, and has shown by example that children and young people, too, can contribute to improving their own situations. This she has done under the most dangerous circumstances. Through her heroic struggle she has become a leading spokesperson for girls’ rights to education,” the Committee notes about Malala.
Nobel's will
According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize is to go to whoever “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 congress.”
Of course, this description hasn’t stopped the Nobel Committee to award the honor to US President Barack Obama back in 2009, despite the fact that even at the time the US was involved in two war fronts. Ever since then, peace seems to not really have been on the White House’s to-do list.
Who were the likeliest to win?
The 2014 Nobel Prize winner was announced today by the Nobel Committee. Although there were some 278 individuals who were nominated for this honor, the favorites for the award were considered Edward Snowden, Pope Francis, who was the bookies’ favorite and Malala Yousafzai, the teenager who was shot for wanting an education and who has been advocating for girls’ right to go to school.
Pope Francis
Before the announcement, Pope Francis was leading at bookmakers in several locations. The 77-year-old Argentine was nominated by Argentina’s congress saying that the pontiff had been decisive in maintaining international peace through his position regarding the conflict in Syria. His discourse regarding other topics has also been appreciated across the world.
Edward Snowden
Edward Snowden was trailing behind on the second spot. The NSA contractor has been nominated on several occasions since his courage led to the exposure of the mass surveillance apparatus the intelligence agency and its partners have built over the past few decades, violating people’s privacy.
Snowden has recently been awarded with the Right Livelihood Awards, also called the “Alternative Nobel Prize.”
Many believed, however, that Edward Snowden’s chances were very slim despite his contribution to the world due to the opposition of the White House and the clear animosity it has towards the whistleblower who showed the world that the USA also spies on its allies. The fact that the US has not stopped trying to capture him even though he is protected as Russian asilee is quite telling to this extent.
Malala Yousafzai
The 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai defied the Taliban and was shot in the head for arguing that girls have a right to go to school. She now lives in the United Kingdom and hasn’t stopped telling her story and working for the rights of others like her ever since. Bookmakers say, however, that she has a smaller success chance than the other two.
