Malala Yousefzai was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in October 2012, an attack carried out to stop Malala’s campaign to promote education, progress and the empowerment of women and girls. She was just 17 years old. Kailash Satyarti has centered his pro human rights activities in countering the exploitation of children for financial gains and the end of human trafficking. As the Norwegian Committee has said, the fact that a Muslim (Malala) and a Hindu (Satyarti), a Pakistani and an Indian share a common effort for education, women’s empowerment and against extremism is remarkable. They constitute an example for all in every level, public administration and civil society.
The Club de Madrid would like to stress the relevance and value of the work of Malala and Kailash and congratulate them not only for today’s announcement of this prestigious award but most importantly for the work they undertake on a day-to-day basis, most of the time in difficult and dangerous conditions, for the sake of equality, freedom and human dignity. These are in essence the core values of democracy and the values that the Club de Madrid fights for in its mission of “democracy that delivers”.