Pakistan’s Malala among 2013 United Nations Human Rights Prize

December 10, 2013 - The 16-year old Pakistani schoolgirl and campaigner for girls’ rights and education, Malala Yousafzai is among five individuals and an organization that have been awarded the 2013 United Nations Human Rights Prize. The prize was awarded on the occasion of December 10^th Human Rights Day, Tuesday. Malala shared the prize with an anti-slavery activist from Mauritania, a campaigner for the rights of persons with disabilities from Kosovo, a human rights defender in Morocco and the Mexican Supreme Court of Justice. Already a symbol for young women’s rights the world over, Malala was initially a vocal and well-known advocate for education and women’s rights, speaking out on the girls’ crucial right to education, women’s empowerment and the links between the two. After surviving an October 2012 assassination attempt in retaliation for her actions and advocacy, Yousafzai has demonstrated her courage and commitment by continuing to speak out on behalf of the rights of girls and women. The Prize has been awarded every five years since 1968. In 1966, the UN General Assembly established the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights to recognize “outstanding achievements in the field of human rights.” Previous laureates have included Amnesty International, Jimmy Carter, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela and Eleanor Roosevelt. (Source: UN)