नवीनतम
Graca Machel selected for Indira Gandhi Peace Prize
NEW DELHI [Maha Media]:Renowned Mozambican humanitarian and rights advocate Graca Machel has been named the recipient of the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2025, the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust announced on Wednesday.
The decision was taken by an international jury chaired by former National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon. According to the Trust, Machel was chosen in recognition of her pioneering and sustained contributions to education, public health, nutrition, women’s economic empowerment and humanitarian service, often carried out in extremely challenging environments.
Describing her as one of Africa’s most respected public figures, the Trust said Machel’s life and work have been deeply shaped by struggles for independence, social justice and the defence of human rights.
“Her lifelong commitment has focused on improving the conditions of the most vulnerable and advancing a fairer and more inclusive society,” the statement said.
Born on October 17, 1945, in rural Mozambique as Graca Simbine, she was educated at Methodist mission schools before earning a scholarship to study German at the University of Lisbon. It was during her student years in Portugal that she became politically engaged and drawn to Mozambique’s independence movement.
She returned home in 1973 and joined the Mozambican Liberation Front (FRELIMO), contributing both as a freedom fighter and an educator. After Mozambique gained independence in 1975, Machel was appointed the country’s first Minister of Education and Culture.
During her tenure, Mozambique witnessed a dramatic expansion in access to education. The Trust noted that enrolment rates in primary and secondary schools rose sharply, with participation climbing to more than 90 per cent among boys and around 75 per cent among girls.
In the 1990s, Machel’s influence extended beyond national boundaries when the United Nations appointed her to lead a landmark global study examining the effects of armed conflict on children. Her 1996 report, The Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, reshaped international norms and significantly altered how the UN and its member states approach child protection in conflict zones.
For her humanitarian efforts, she received the UN’s Nansen Refugee Award and was honoured as an honorary Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1997.
The Trust highlighted that Machel has continued to play a transformative role in international policy and advocacy through her involvement with several global institutions. She is a founding member of The Elders, helped establish the global initiative Girls Not Brides, and serves on the UN Secretary-General’s Advocacy Group for the Sustainable Development Goals.
In recent years, she has concentrated on advancing social change through independent institutions and academic leadership. She founded the Graca Machel Trust in 2010, which works to strengthen women’s leadership, food security and governance, and also established the Zizile Institute for Child Development.
In recognition of her work for women’s and adolescent health, the World Health Organisation awarded her its highest honour, the WHO Gold Medal, in 2018.
Announcing the award, the Trust said the 2025 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize is being conferred on Graca Machel for her “extraordinary contributions to education, health and nutrition, economic empowerment and humanitarian action, and for inspiring hope worldwide for a more just and equitable future.”
