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Graça Machel
Humanitarian; champion of children's and women's rights
A global conscience for children caught in the world's wars.
The rise
A freedom fighter and Mozambique's first education minister, Machel widened access to schooling in a newly independent nation.
What they did
Her landmark UN report on the impact of armed conflict on children reshaped global policy, and through The Elders she has championed children's and women's rights worldwide.
The full picture
Uniquely the former first lady of two nations — Mozambique and South Africa — she has guarded her own independent moral voice.
Why it matters
Machel proves leadership can be exercised through advocacy, measured by the most vulnerable a society protects.
“The way a society treats its children reveals its true heart.”