Malala Yousafzai: Courage in the face of adversity

SHE HAS accomplished more in her 17 years than most will in an entire lifetime, and last night, Malala Yousafzai was honored with the 2014 Liberty Medal at the National Constitution Center.

The Pakistani teen is the youngest person to be awarded the medal as well as the Nobel Peace Prize, which she received 12 days ago.

Approaching the stage, Yousafzai pressed her hand over her heart, demonstrating gratitude to an audience of about 1,500. She was acknowledged for her bravery and resilience in the face of adversity, after she was nearly killed for voicing advocacy of a child's right to an education.

"Brothers and sisters, tonight I speak for those with no voice. I speak for every child whose right to an education has been neglected. I speak for every girl who has been robbed of her right to a safe and quality education," she said.

"Philadelphia is considered the birthplace of America, of freedom, of independence, and of liberty. . . . I now realize that liberty comes with a high price."

Word spread quickly of the girl's activism when, at age 11, she began to author a blog for BBC under a pen name, documenting her life as a schoolgirl under the Taliban in the Swat Valley region of northern Pakistan.

After the Taliban gained control in 2007 and banned female education in the region, Yousafzai's voice grew louder, and she quickly became a target.

"The Taliban, they tried to kill me to silence me, but I think they made a big mistake," she quipped to the crowd last night.

In 2012, Yousafzai was on a bus heading home from school when a Taliban gunman raided the bus and shot her. The bullet went through her head, into her neck and out her shoulder. She recovered in an English hospital.

Mayor Nutter was visibly moved last night.

"I have to admit, this is quite possibly the most emotional Liberty Medal ceremony I've ever attended," Nutter said.

"Malala shows you don't even have to be of voting age . . . to let your voice be heard."

Among the speakers was Minnijean Brown Trickey of the so-called Little Rock Nine, African-American students who fought for the right to attend the segregated Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas in 1957.

Trickey said she was, like Yousafzai, a young woman who was hated for her activism.

"Why does any ordinary person do something extraordinary?" Trickey asked. "We do it because someone had to do it, and we just happen to be the ones that did.

"Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Yousafzai co-founded the Malala Fund, a campaign advocating for equal rights to an education for all children. Earlier in the afternoon, she met with roughly 200 middle- and high-school students for a special meet-and-greet at the convention center for the Forbes Under 30 Summit. She graciously posed for pictures and signed autographs for a crowd of eager but respectful young students.

The Liberty Medal comes with a $100,000 prize, which Yousafzai said she would donate to Pakistani children in need.

The medal is awarded annually to individuals who demonstrate and strive to ensure freedoms for people all over the world. Previous winners and Nobel laureates include Kofi Annan, Jimmy Carter and Mikhail Gorbachev.