Payal Jangid, a teenager from Rajasthan, has become the first recipient of the Changemaker Award at the Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards. This was in recognition of her campaign to end child labour and child marriage.

Jangid had fought against the family’s decision to marry her at young age, and then has been campaigning against the old social practice of child marriage. She was presented the award by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on Tuesday.
 
The Foundation said in a message:

“Payal Jangid received the Changemaker Award at tonight’s Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards. This award recognizes her campaign to end child labor and child marriage.”

Nobel laureate and child rights campaigner Kailash Satyarthi also tweeted:

“Sumedha ji and I are so proud & moved to watch our daughter Payal receiving Changemaker Award from Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation now in New York. She refused her marriage and her entire village was free from child marriages & labour.”

Bill and Melinda Gates, co-chairs of the Foundation, co-hosted the fourth annual Goalkeepers Global Goals Awards in New York to celebrate outstanding work around the world that is directly linked to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (Global Goals).

On the occasion, the Global Goalkeeper Award was presented to prime minister Narendra Modi for the progress India is making in improving sanitation through the Swachh Bharat mission. Before the Swachh Bharat mission, over 500 million people in India did not have access to safe sanitation, and now, the majority do.

The Progress Award was presented to Gregory Rockson, co-founder and CEO of mPharma, for his work to increase access to high-quality drugs across community pharmacies in five African countries. The Campaign Award was presented to Aya Chebbi, the first African Union Youth Envoy, for her work promoting youth empowerment, peacebuilding, and non-violent mobilization in Africa.