After Malala, another Swat student nominated for International Children's Peace Prize

Fourteen-year-old Hira Akbar, a children's rights campaigner, is among six students shortlisted for the award

SWAT: Fourteen-year-old Hira Akbar has become the second student from Swat district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after Malala Yousafzai to be nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize.

She is among six students shortlisted out of 200 across the world for the award.

"I'll continue my struggle for the rights of my fellow students in Swat," Hira told The Express Tribune at her home in Saidu Sharif, the main town in the picturesque district.



"The [award] nomination has motivated me to strive for children's rights across the province," she added.

Hira Akbar at her home in Saidu Sharif. PHOTO: Express

Hira, the speaker of the Child Rights Committee’s parliament, has been nominated for the award for her efforts for children's rights in Swat.

Malala, who was shot by Taliban militants after campaigning for girls’ right to education, had won the prestigious International Children’s Peace Prize in 2013.

The International Children’s Peace Prize, an initiative of the Dutch based KidsRights Foundation, was launched in 2005 by former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, when he chaired the Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome.

Malala later became the youngest Nobel Prize laureate.

International Children’s Peace Prize carries a cash value of 100,000 euros ($133,000) that is invested in projects relating to the winner’s cause.