MALALA Yousufzai has been awarded a prestigious peace prize for her courage and determination. Malala was the latest in a line of notable recipients of the Tipperary International Peace Award.

In her acceptance speech before an audience of around 200 in Irish town of Tipperary, she appealed to governments around the world to change laws that discriminate against women and children.

She also said she would rather be remembered as someone who campaigned for the equal right to education than as someone shot by the Taliban. Martin Quinn, Tipperary Peace Convention secretary, said he was delighted the teenager had agreed to accept the award in person.

“Malala now joins the illustrious list of past recipients of the peace prize, which includes former prime minister of Pakistan, the late Benazir Bhutto,” he said.

Malala was hit just above her left eye by a bullet which grazed the edge of her brain.

She was eventually airlifted to Britain and treated at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The teenager has remained in the UK, where she returned to school in March and continues to campaign for every child’s right to education.—Monitoring Desk