Malala Yousafzai, Kailash Satyarthi Share 2014 Nobel Peace Prize

Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating girls' education, and Indian children's rights advocate Kailash Satyarthi will share the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Friday. Yousafzai, 17, is the youngest winner of the award. She was honored for "her heroic struggle" and becoming "a leading spokesperson for girls’ right to education," said Thorbjørn Jagland, chairman of the committee. "Depsite her youth, Malala ... has shown by example that children and young people can contribute to improving their own situation."

Satyarthi, 60, has headed peaceful protests "focusing on the grave exploitation of children for financial gain," the committee announced. Before the announcement, the secretive Norwegian Nobel Committee revealed that it had received a record 278 nominations. Committee member Geir Lundestad had suggested the choice was more difficult this year, telling The Associated Press they had "seven meetings rather than five or six." The $1.1 million prize will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel's death in 1896.
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