Swat brave girl awarded National Peace Prize

Instead of being “sad” as her name means, Malala was the happiest Pakistani young girl in Islamabad for being awarded the National Peace Prize by the Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani. She was honoured for being an inspiration to her friends by standing up against repression as her namesake did in Afghanistan in the 19th century.“I named her after Malalai of Maiwand, who inspired the retreating Pakhtun to die as martyrs in the battlefield of Maiwand rather than live a life of shame,” said Malala’s father Ziauddin Yousafzai, who accompanied the 14-year-old to Islamabad to receive the award.Malala is also the elected speaker in the district child assembly comprising 60 to 70 boys and girls.“I want to use the award for the benefit of all the children, who work in homes and for the children in the streets, who are denied their right to education,” she said, explaining how the award had encouraged her to make a difference.While most of the Swat Valley prepared to implement the Taliban’s decree that stopped girls from attending schools in January 2009, Malala would wear ordinary clothes and hide books under her shawl before stepping out to attend her classes in Khushal School and College, Swat.Malala became the voice of all the girls in Swat when she began maintaining a diary on BBC website. “I started asking why girls were denied their basic right to education. Why were (the) Taliban hurting innocent people and how my friends and I wished to attend school to grow in life,” said the 8th grader.Malala heard bombs explode, saw bodies in the streets and was also threatened by one of the Taliban commanders and spokesperson Shah Duran Maulana, who warned over FM radio to silence her.