The teenager who made global headlines after being shot in the head by the Taliban was awarded an international prize. Malala Yousafzai, a 16-year old Pakistani schoolgirl and education activist, is the 2013 winner of the Tipperary International Peace Award.
From the age of 11, Malala wrote secretly for the BBC, telling the story of life as a girl seeking education under Taliban rule. Her identity was discovered, and on 9 October 2012, a Taliban gunman went into her schoolbus and shot her above the left eye. She survived and was treated by doctors in Pakistan and in the UK where she was later airlifted.
Even after the shooting, and continued threats on her life, Malala continued speaking out for girls' right to education across the world. Sixty-one million children worldwide have no access to education, and the vast majority of them are girls. Malala has become a global symbol of peaceful protest and has addressed the United Nations, which designated July 12 as “Malala Day” in her honor.
Previous recipients of the Tipperary International Peace Award include former South African president Nelson Mandela and the former Soviet and former US leaders Mikhail Gorbachev and Bill Clinton. Malala is also the youngest-ever nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.
You can read about the Tipperary Peace Award here
Watch the I Am Malala Music Video here
(Image: screen shot http://www.tipperarypeace.ie/peaceprize.html)