Nobel Peace Prize laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum has been honored with the Gandhi Mandela Award 2020. This award was introduced yesterday, on Nelson Mandela’s 106th beginning anniversary. Based on the Gandhi Mandela Basis, the award acknowledges people who promote peace, concord, and the values upheld by each Gandhi and Mandela, together with neighborhood service and social improvement. The Dalai Lama was the recipient of this prestigious award for the yr 2019.
This yr, the award has been bestowed upon Guatemalan human rights activist Rigoberta Menchú Tum, who has devoted her life to advocating for Indigenous rights. Her tireless work has earned her quite a few accolades, together with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 and the Princess of Asturias Award in 1998.
Born on January 9, 1959, to a poor peasant household, Rigoberta labored on household farms earlier than changing into concerned in social reform actions. Her activism started in her teenage years regardless of dealing with vital opposition. Throughout the Guatemalan Civil Conflict, her household suffered extreme losses on account of army oppression. In 1979, she joined the Committee of the Peasant Union (CUC), advocating for farm staff’ rights and educating the Indigenous peasant inhabitants. Her activism led to her exile in Mexico in 1981, the place she continued her efforts by co-founding the United Illustration of the Guatemalan Opposition (RUOG) in 1982.
The Gandhi Mandela Award, established by the Gandhi Mandela Basis, honors people who embody the rules of Gandhi and Mandela. The award features a gold medal crafted by the India Authorities Mint, a pine wooden field, and a certificates signed by a distinguished jury of former Chief Justices from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh.
