An 11-year-old girl overheard her parents discussing about giving her in marriage along with her 13-year-old sister Babli.

“No, I do not want to get married now. I want to study,” protested sixth grader Payal Jangid. “If you forcefully marry me, I will run away from the village.”

Payal’s frightened parents were obliged to give up the marriage proposal.

Child marriage was prevalent in Payal’s Hinsla village, about 100 km away from Jaipur in Rajasthan. Deeming that girls belong to other families, many poor, illiterate parents did not want to spend money on their daughters’ education, but wanted to get rid of their minor daughters through marriage.

Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi and his wife Sumedha visited Hinsla in 2012 and spoke to the community about a child’s right to education, healthcare and protection from exploitation. Inspired by their Bachpan Bachao Andolan, Payal too joined them.

Gradually Payal was elected as the sarpanch (leader) of her village’s Bal Panchayat (Children’s Parliament). She campaigned against child marriage and canvassed boys and girls to protest against it.

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A diligent philanthropist, a committed eco-activist, a loving family man, a perfect gentleman and the future king — what more reasons does one need to love Prince William! Being a member of the British royal family and the grandson of Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, will eventually succeed his father Prince Charles as King of England. His personality and work have already won him affection and popularity among the people.

Prince William was born on 21 June 1982 in London. He received his early education at Wetherby School in London and later attended Ludgrove School in Wokingham, Berkshire. Having been exposed to charitable activities early in his life by his mother Diana, Princess of Wales, Prince William volunteered to teach children in Chile during his gap year. He also worked at a British dairy farm and visited Belize and countries in Africa. He graduated from the University of St Andrews in Scotland.

Following his graduation, Prince William trained at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, served for over seven years, and carried out over 150 helicopter search and rescue operations before the denouement of his military service in 2013. Later, he served as an air ambulance pilot until 2017. Speaking to the BBC, the Prince justified his choice: “All I want, at the end of the day is to feel like I have made a difference and a contribution.’’

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“I have always believed in the power of an individual, and more specifically youth. It is often said that the future lies in the hands of youth. Well, I believe even the present is not in the best hands if youth is not involved.”
~ Sanjoli Banerjee

Imagine a person earning the tag of an ‘activist’ at the age of four and half! Sanjoli Banerjee became a social activist when she asked these bitter questions: What is female foeticide? Why isn’t there male foeticide? Why do people support the killing of my unborn sister? Her young mind was disturbed deeply by the fact that her little sister’s life was being threatened as her mother was being pressurised to go for an abortion because she was expecting a second daughter. Many acquaintances of the Banerjee family thought that a second daughter would be a burden to the family. A son would, on the contrary, bring honour and prosperity; he would grow up to take care of the parents; he would do the last rites, and he wouldn’t have to leave home after getting married! So, the best way out is to abort the baby in the womb, and try again for a boy!

But four and half-year-old Sanjoli was already ignited with the fire of passion for gender equality; she stood up to those who wanted to kill her little sister for her gender in the womb of her mother. Fortunately, unlike many parents in India, Sanjoli’s parents answered her questions honestly rather than shrugging them off. Her father gradually guided her to the path of activism. Her mother, defying the pressures from society, stood like a rock to save her unborn baby and delivered a beautiful bundle of joy, Ananya, little sister to Sanjoli.

Thus began the journey of activist-changemaker Sanjoli Banerjee. The birth of her little sister gave her a purpose in life. “Since then, I have fought many fights, big and small, against female foeticide, for environmental protection, for mental and menstrual hygiene, and for empowerment through education. I continue to work through my NGO Sarthi,” she says.

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“One person can make a difference. And everyone should try.”
— John F. Kennedy

Vepa Shyam Rao was born in an orthodox Brahmin family in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh, on 21 September 1939. Since his father died when he was four years old, he was brought up by his maternal grandfather who had been the Diwan of the princely state Sakti.

After studying Law and Commerce, he became a lecturer in Management at St Xavier’s College, Kolkata. He also practised law as a junior to Sabyasachi Mukherji, who later became the Chief Justice of India.

Seeing the prevalent social and economic injustices, he quit his promising career to become a full-time worker of the Arya Samaj in 1968. Renouncing his worldly possessions, family ties and high caste status in 1970 by embracing sanyas, he adopted the name Swami Agnivesh.

Influenced by great sages like Swami Indravesh, Swami Dayanand Saraswati, and Gandhij, Agnivesh founded the political party, Arya Sabha, on the principles of Arya Samaj that would work for social spirituality, rejecting materialism. Though the Arya Samaj expelled him in 1976, he continued to claim his fidelity to its ideals. Later, he founded the World Council of Arya Samaj, an organisation distinct from Dayanand Saraswati’s Arya Samaj, and served as its president from 2004-2014.

Joining the Total Revolution Movement spearheaded by Jayaprakash Narayan, Agnivesh had to go underground during the Emergency in 1975 and was jailed for 14 months. Basing himself in Haryana, he campaigned for fair share for the state, which was then separated from Punjab. He spearheaded total prohibition in Haryana and for remunerative prices for farmers’ produce.

Elected to be a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Haryana in 1977, Agnivesh became a Cabinet Minister for Education in 1979. He protested against his own government after the police firing in Faridabad. Resigning from his office, he decided to devote himself to social justice movements, which soon became his main commitment.

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Born in Mingora, Pakistan, a brave soul fought against the Taliban in Pakistan and demanded education for girls. Malala Yousafzai became an advocate for education of girls that resulted in the issue of a death threat against her by the Taliban. She was shot in the head in 2012 by a Taliban gunman. However, she was unstoppable and continued with her noble work. She was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in 2013 and in 2014, she was re-nominated and she finally became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ziauddin Yosafzai, her father, had founded a school where Malala had received her early education. The Taliban had begun attacking numerous girls’ schools in Swat area of Pakistan. It was then that Malala decided to deliver a speech in Peshawar. Her talk was titled, “How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education?” This is considered as her initial days of activism.

Malala continued to deliver many speeches about basic rights and also about the right of education for every woman in her country. Her works of activism earned her a nomination for the International Children’s Peace Prize 2011. She was also awarded Pakistan’s National Youth Peace Prize the same year.

However, Malala received a death threat because of her work. She was not concerned about herself but was deeply worried about her father who was an anti-Taliban activist. The family thought that the Taliban would not harm a child. But, they were wrong. On 9 October 2012, a masked gunman attacked the 15-year-old while she was returning from school. Malala was in the school bus along with her friends, when the gunman boarded the bus and asked for her. She was shot in the head. The attack also left two other girls injured.

Malala resides in Britain currently where she received medical treatment after she was shot. She is completing school in June after which, she is planning to study philosophy, politics and economics at university.

Malala continues to fight for the right to education and other rights for women. Her remarkable journey from a remote village in Pakistan to the United Nations in New York is simply extraordinary. She has achieved so many honours at such a young age. In 2014, aged 17, she became the youngest person to win a Nobel Peace Prize, and in April 2017, she became the youngest Messenger of Peace, the highest honour awarded by the United Nations.

She is a wonderful orator and that has landed her on the global stage as a regular speaker. She has visited numerous refugee camps to fight for the rights of women. Her dedication to work and the will to do something for the girls in this world have helped her to achieve so many titles at such a young age. She is definitely an inspiration for young girls everywhere.

Malala began to maintain a diary for the BBC’s Urdu service in which she provided complete details about how her life was badly affected by the Taliban. She spoke about her life with her peers. Her entries were written under the name ‘Gul Makai’, the name of a local heroine from a Pashtun folk tale. “If you want to see your future bright, you have to start working now [and] not wait for anyone else.”

Distinguished individuals are selected as UN Messengers of Peace from various fields ranging from literature, art, science, sports, entertainment or other public life fields. They work wholeheartedly to improve the lives of millions of people around the world. The United Nations is all set to achieve the fourth level of their developmental goals that states, “By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and Goal-4 effective learning outcomes.” Its main focus would be on the thought of providing free education that would further help in promoting the growth of the whole world as a whole. Dedicated people join hands to fulfil this mission for a better and an educated world. Education is the basic right of any individual and they should receive it at any cost.

Malala is one of those individuals who has dedicated her whole life to fight for the rights of women. She is proud to call herself a Muslim and stresses that Islam is a religion of peace. She is deeply disappointed that the media refers to her religion as “Islamic jihadists and Islamic terrorists.” She says that one should not judge a religion based on some people who demean it. On 14 July 2014, she appealed to the militants of Boko Haram to stop misusing the name of Islam.

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