Education activist Malala wins EU Sakharov rights award

Malala Yousafzai, the teenager from Pakistan who was shot in the head by the Taliban, has won the EU’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of thought.

European Parliament President Martin Schulz told MEPs that Malala “is a young girl who had the courage to stand up against a hostile, male-dominated and violent environment in the Swat-valley in Pakistan.”

Schulz said she deserved the prize for her campaign to fight for the right to education.

The young activist moved to the UK shortly after last October’s attack to receive medical treatment.

She has also been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize; the winner of that award will be announced in Oslo on Friday. Malala is the youngest person to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her work as an education activist.

In July she spoke to the UN in New York, appealing for compulsory free schooling for all children. She told the audience:“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. Education is the only solution. Education first. Thank you.”