Summary Dedicates her prize for unsung heroes of Pakistan and all who fight for Human Rights in the world.
STRASBOURG (AFP/ Web Desk) - Pakistan s teenage activist Malala Yousafzai was Wednesday handed the EU s prestigious Sakharov human rights prize.
To thunderous applause announcing the European Parliament prize, the assembly s president Martin Schulz praised the 16-year-old s crusade for all childrens right to an education, saying: "You have given hope to millions of people."
Addressing the ceremony ‚ Malala Yousfzai said she dedicates this prize to heroes of Pakistan and all who foght for Human Rights.
More than 20 former laureates attended the ceremony‚ the parliament s press service says.
The Sakharov Prize for free speech is awarded by the European Parliament annually in memory of Soviet physicist and dissident Andrei Sakharov.
The 50‚000 euro ($65‚000) prize is considered Europe s top human rights award.
Malala lived in Pakistan s mountainous Swat Valley and her name became internationally known after the Pakistan army pushed the Taliban out of the area in 2009.
She joins a distinguished list of winners of the Sakharov Prize which includes South Africa s Nelson Mandela and Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma‚ also known as Myanmar.
