The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has announced, to mark International Women in Diplomacy Day, that the second Isabel Oyarzábal Award has been awarded to Malala Yousafzai, in recognition of her outstanding track record in defending human rights and, in particular, the right to education for girls and women worldwide.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, conveyed his congratulations to the laureate on Thursday for this honour, which he established in 2025 “with the aim of recognising and highlighting the outstanding contribution of women who promote international action committed to gender equality, social justice and international cooperation”, said Albares. The Award forms part of Spain’s Feminist Foreign Policy and its commitments to human rights and democracy, which lie at the heart of Spain’s Foreign Action Strategy 2025–2028.
The second recipient of this award, Malala Yousafzai, is a renowned human rights activist and advocate for the right to education for women and girls. A highlight of her career is the founding in 2013 of the Malala Fund, which focuses on ensuring 12 years of free, safe and high-quality education for all girls. At just 17 years of age, she became the youngest person in history to receive the Nobel Peace Prize (2014), an honour she shared with Kailash Satyarthi for their fight against child exploitation and in defence of the universal right to education.
Spain’s commitment to combating gender-based crimes
Malala Yousafzai’s leadership and commitment have established her as one of the leading global voices for equality and social justice. Currently, her campaign for the criminalisation of gender-based crimes or ‘gender apartheid’ stands out; this aligns with Spain’s firm commitment to promoting accountability for human rights violations, with a particular focus on the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan.
During the 5th Conference on Feminist Foreign Policy, held in Madrid from 1 to 3 July, the Malala Fund and other like-minded organisations worked closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to organise a side event on gender justice on dismantling gender apartheid, women’s leadership, accountability and the responsibility of States. Furthermore, the political declaration adopted at the Conference includes strong language on gender justice, particularly regarding accountability for acts of systematic and institutionalised discrimination against women and girls.
Accountability for human rights violations
In November 2024, Spain, together with Chile, France, Costa Rica, Mexico and Luxembourg, submitted a complaint to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding the situation in Afghanistan, urging it to consider investigating the crimes committed by the Taliban against women and girls. Furthermore, in October 2025, Spain supported the establishment within the United Nations Human Rights Council of an independent mechanism to investigate human rights violations committed by the Taliban regime.
The award presented to Malala Yousafzai is named after Isabel Oyarzábal (1878–1974), a pioneer of Spanish feminism, the first woman to represent Spain at the League of Nations and Spain’s first female ambassador. A tireless defender of women’s rights, Oyarzábal embodies the values that this award seeks to highlight: commitment, courage and a dedication to public service.
The award ceremony will be held shortly at the Ministry’s headquarters, in a ceremony presided over by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
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