Malala wins 2012 Tipperary International Peace Award

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Malala Yousafzai, the 14-year-old schoolgirl who was shot in the head because of her human rights work in Pakistan, has received the 2012 Tipperary International Peace Award.

The Tipperary Peace Convention said they honored Yousafzai because of her courage, determination, and perseverance, along with the impact she has had on so many across the world. In October 2012 Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban because of the public attention she had received while campaigning for girl’s rights in 2009 and writing an online diary. In her diary she wrote about the Taliban militants who had taken over the Swat Valley and banned education for girls. She had received death threats because of the diary. Read more: Former president Mary McAleese and husband win major peace prize The Pakistan Taliban stated that they shot Yousafzai because she was a western-minded girl and secular. The Tipperary Peace Convention said, "Malala's courage has proved to be an inspiration around the globe. "The right to education is denied to 61 million children of primary school age around the world and the hopes of these children are represented by the courage, determination and by the voice of Malala Yousafzai. "The Taliban tried and failed to silence her and have instead amplified her voice." Previous recipients of the award include former South African president Nelson Mandela, former US president Bill Clinton, former prime minister of Pakistan the late Benazir Bhutto, and former President of Ireland Prof Mary McAleese and her husband Senator Martin McAleese.