Malala Yousafzai, the teenager from Swat Valley, Pakistan who was shot in the throat a year ago by Taleban terrorists because of her fight for the right of girls to be educated, has been awarded the European Parliament’s 2013 Sakharov Prize.
Established in 1988, the prize, named after Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov, is awarded to individuals or organizations who have dedicated their lives to the defense of human rights and freedom of thought. Announcing the winner, Martin Schulz, President of the European Parliament, said that Malala was unanimously chosen because of her heroism.
“She encouraged other girls to go to school with her in a hostile environment,” Schulz said, “in spite of the threats of the Taliban to kill them. She was a wonderful example to her companions. ‘Let’s go to school,’ she told them. ‘Let’s not allow them to frighten us. We want to claim our rights as girls and women to be respected.”