{"id":1352,"date":"2026-03-25T11:34:44","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:34:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pahlpeaceprize.com\/?page_id=1352"},"modified":"2026-03-25T11:57:05","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T10:57:05","slug":"award-winner-2026","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.pahlpeaceprize.com\/en\/award-winners\/award-winner-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Award Winner 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Peace Award Winner 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Maria
Furtw\u00e4ngler<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Pahl Peace Prize 2026 honours Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler for her longstanding and courageous commitment to the dignity, protection and empowerment of women and girls. As a physician and socially engaged public figure, Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler has used her public voice with clarity and responsibility to raise awareness of violence, make structural inequality visible, and give a voice to those who are too often overlooked. Her work stands for humanity, justice, and the conviction that social peace begins where people are seen, protected, and treated as equals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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We do not need to be ashamed \u2014 we need to speak out loudly.\u201d<\/p>\nDr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler<\/span><\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Biography
Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler is one of Germany\u2019s best-known actresses and a trained medical doctor. Alongside her work in film and television, Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler has been committed for many years to social causes, particularly the protection of women and girls from violence, exploitation and discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This commitment is rooted not only in public advocacy, but also in direct humanitarian experience. Since 1998, Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler has repeatedly served as a volunteer doctor and has witnessed firsthand how deeply violence against women and girls is embedded in many realities of life. These experiences have had a lasting impact on her social engagement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2011, together with her daughter Elisabeth Furtw\u00e4ngler and with the support of German Doctors, Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler initiated the MaLisa Home in the Philippines \u2014 a shelter for girls affected by human trafficking and forced prostitution. The home provides protection, education and support on the path towards a self-determined life.<\/p>\n\n\n

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To further expand this commitment, Maria and Elisabeth Furtw\u00e4ngler founded the MaLisa Foundation in 2016. The foundation is committed to a free and equal society, works internationally against violence against women and girls, and promotes diversity, fair representation and the dismantling of gender stereotypes in the media. In recent years, this commitment has also been extended to include climate and biodiversity, driven by the conviction that social justice and ecological responsibility belong together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler repeatedly uses her artistic and public presence to draw attention to injustice and to shift perspectives. Her work combines visibility with substance, empathy with determination, and influence with responsibility. In this way, Dr. Maria Furtw\u00e4ngler has become an important voice for a more humane, just and sustainable society.<\/p>\n\n