NEW YORK: A 13-year-old Pakistani girl, Hadiqa Bashir, has been honoured with ‘Mohammad Ali Interna­tional Humanitarian Award’ in the US for her struggle against underage marriages.

Hadiqa belongs to Swat and she was honoured for raising voice and her struggle against the underage marriages in Pakistan.

After receiving the award, Hadiqa was quoted as saying that the award was for the people of Swat.

She was honoured for her conviction as the pioneer of Girls United for Human Rights with a mission to empower the disenfranchised girls in rural regions of Pakistan, eliminate socioeconomic inequality, facilitate self-reliance, enable local self-governance and promote people’s advocacy.

Published in Dawn, September 21st , 2015

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