Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager who took on the Taliban , and Russian human rights activists are seen as top contenders for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, the International Peace Research Institute said. Sister Mary Tarcisia Lakot is also a potential winner for her work promoting peace in Uganda, Kristian Berg Harpviken, head of the Oslo-based institute that ranks potential winners each year, said in a statement. Russians that may win include the “formidable , female, three-generation trio” of Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Svetlana Gannushkina and Lilya Shibanova, he said. Yousafzai, 16, was shot in the head in Pakistan’s Swat Valley in retaliation for her campaign for girls to be given equal rights to schooling, defying threats from Taliban militants in her hometown of Mingora. She now lives in the United Kingdom and has since then gained global recognition for her promises to continue her struggle against illiteracy, poverty and terrorism.
Malala is among top Nobel peace contenders
