Yahoo – AFP,
22 Oct 2014
Malala Yousafzai, the child rights activist and youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, received the Liberty Medal and pledged her $100,000 award to education in her homeland Pakistan.
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| Nobel Peace Prize recipient Malala Yousafzai speaks at the Forbes Under 30 Summit in Philadelphia on October 21, 2014 (AFP Photo/Nicholas Kamm) |
Malala Yousafzai, the child rights activist and youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, received the Liberty Medal and pledged her $100,000 award to education in her homeland Pakistan.
Yousafzai
won the annual prize from the National Constitution Center for her
"courage and resilience in the face of adversity and for serving as a
powerful voice for those who have been denied their basic human rights and
liberties," the NCC said.
The
17-year-old gave a speech outlining her desire to see 57 million children out
of school given the right to an education, speaking less than two weeks after
winning the Nobel prize with India's Kailash Satyarthi.
"I'm
honored to receive this medal," she said in an address peppered with
jokes.
"It
encourages me to continue my campaign for education and to fight for the rights
of every child," she added, announcing the money would go toward education
in Pakistan.
She called
on countries around the world to stop spending money on weapons and instead
invest in their children's futures.
"Education
is the best weapon through which we can fight poverty, ignorance and terrorism.
So I ask all countries all around the world, let us say no to wars."
The
schoolgirl, who currently lives in Britain, rose to prominence in Pakistan by
campaigning for girls' right to education.
In October
2012, she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman and is regarded with
suspicion and hatred among many in Pakistan.
Evacuated
to Britain, she made a remarkable recovery and today attends school and flies
around the world to champion for universal access to education through her
Malala Fund charity.
"Malala's
courageous fight for equality and liberty from tyranny is evidence that a
passionate, committed leader, regardless of age, has the power to ignite a
movement for reform," said NCC chairman Jeb Bush.
"Let
us all, young and old, strive to be like Malala -- to challenge the status quo
and to serve as catalysts for meaningful change."
The Liberty
Medal is awarded to people who strive to secure freedom for people around the
world.
Past
recipients include former presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, Nelson
Mandela, Shimon Peres, Kofi Annan and Bono.
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