Profile: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai

Malala is by far the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Credit: Oli Scarff/PA Wire/Press Association Images

Malala Yousafzai today won the Nobel Prize at the tender age of 17, becoming the youngest ever recipient of the award.

The remarkable teenager first came to international attention when she was 15 after she was shot in the head by a Taliban extremist near her home in north-west Pakistan.

Before the shooting Malala was already a well-known figure in Pakistan and had received the National Peace Award there for under-18s.

She was targeted because she had been writing a blog calling for more educational opportunities for girls in a part of the world where they are often denied even basic schooling.

Fortunately, the extremists' efforts to silence Malala had precisely the opposite effect as she went on to achieve global prominence as an advocate for women's rights.

After a remarkable recovery from her injuries which involved treatment in Dubai and the UK, Malala settled in Birmingham and has been campaigning tirelessly on women's rights ever since.

Malala meeting leaders of the #BringBackOurGirls campaign in Nigeria. Credit: Reuters

As well as winning a host of international prizes, she has set up the Malala Fund to continue her work on behalf of girls the world over.

She recently visited Nigeria as part of the 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign to free 200 schoolgirls kidnapped by militant group Boko Haram.

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