A 14 years old Pakistani girl makes a history, the history of bravery, courage and peace. One girl fighting militancy and extremism. She was stopped to read in school and get education. But she refused to to bend down. Yeah!! she raised voice not only for herself but also for all children. And today she won the first "National Peace Prize" and got new name "National Malala Peace Prize" for it. Malala Yousafzai, the daughter of Swat.
On Tuesday 20 December in Islamabad, Malala Yousafzai has been awarded with "National Peace Prize'' (NPP) by Pakistan prime minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani for her courageous stance for promotion of education and peace under extremely hostile conditions in. Pakistan government renamed the award "National Malala Peace Prize" (NMPP) and will be given to outstanding youth upto 18 years old. The Prime Minister also gave her cash amount of Rs.0.5 million and congratulated her and her parents for reaching out to her classmates to carry on with their studies despite the situation, fraught with dangers. Malala Yousafzai requested and then PM directed to set up an IT campus in Swat for females.
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| Malala Yousafzai - Reveiving award from Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani |
For the upcoming year, Malala expressed her resolve to keep working for girls’ rights not only in Swat valley but across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. She is looking forward to support from the country as well as the Pakhtun community in this regard.
On the occasion Malala Yousafzai said, “I convinced my friends and other classmates of the importance of education and told them that our primary education will decide our future. I am thankful not only to the students but also to their parents for honouring my requests and sending their daughters back to school."
Earlier, Malala was the first Pakistani child amongst the top five nominees from around the globe for a peace award "International Children's Peace Prize" on Universal Children’s Day. Although she didn’t receive the international award, Prime Minister Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani decided to acknowledge her efforts for the promotion of education in the extremely hostile conditions of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Malakand division.
Malala Yousufzai got the attention of the world for encouraging her fellow students to continue their studies despite threats by the militants and extremists before and after the military operation in Malakand Division. Malala became the voice of all the girls in Swat when she began maintaining a diary on BBC website.Watch here a NYTimes documentary on Malala Yousafzai.