Malala Yousafzai, the child rights activist and youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, received the Liberty Medal yesterday and pledged her $100,000 award to the promotion of 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.
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, but survived the attack.
“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.
