Malala dedicates award to 'voiceless' children

Education rights campaigner Malala Yousafzai yesterday dedicated her Nobel peace prize to "voiceless" children around the world, and called on the Indian and Pakistani prime ministers to attend the award ceremony for the sake of peace.
The 17-year-old, who heard the news while she was in a chemistry lesson at school in Birmingham, central England, said she was honoured to be the youngest person and the first Pakistani to receive the accolade.
"The award is for all the children who are voiceless, whose voices need to be heard," Malala told a press conference.
Malala arrived in Britain from Pakistan for medical treatment after being shot in the head by a Taliban fighter in October 2012, an attempt to silence her vocal advocacy of the right of girls to go to school.
Malala was hailed as the "pride of Pakistan" by Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. But the award also drew some sceptical responses from Pakistani conservatives suspicious of western motives.
“There are lots of girls in Pakistan who have been martyred in terrorist attacks, women who have been widowed, but no one gives them an award. So these out of the box activities are suspicious,” said a right wing religious party leader in Paksitan.