STRASBOURG: Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot on a school bus by the Taliban last October for campaigning on the education of girls, on Thursday won the European Parliament’s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize, beating NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden and three Belarusian dissidents.
“Today, we decided to let the world know that our hope for a better future stands in young people like Malala Yousafzai,” said the chairman of the conservative European People’s Party (EPP).
The 16-year-old Malala is also among the favorites to win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize which will be announced in Oslo on Friday.
The Sakharov Prize is given by the European Parliament each year since 1988 to commemorate Soviet scientist and dissident Andrei Sakharov. Its past winners include Nelson Mandela and Burmese activist Aung San Suu Kyi.
