Pakistani student wins top prize in Commonwealth essay competition

17-year-old Zahra Hussain, student of Lahore Grammar School International, pens the short story titled 'Hues of Red'

A young Pakistani student won an essay competition organised by the British Royal Commonwealth Society, Express News reported on Sunday.

The short story, Hues of Red, penned by Zahra Hussain, student of Lahore Grammar School International,  received rounded acclaim from the jury, winning her the top prize in this competition.



The plot of this story revolves around the menace of child marriage and domestic violence prevalent in South Asia. It delivers a message of hope for the younger generation and imparts social awareness towards these issues among younger readership.



Upon receiving the news of her victory, Zahra expressed gratitude and pride. She said that competing with 12,000 other contestants and winning the first prize was a milestone achievement for her and she is extremely happy and content by the results.

"I'm mostly in disbelief, because it's such a huge honour, but once I get past that I think I'll be incredibly excited," she said.

Talking about her passion for writing Zahra said: "Your writing style can be as diverse as you want it to be - it’s a very unique kind of freedom, and I absolutely adore it."

The Royal Commonwealth Society also congratulated the young author in a post on Facebook:

"We are delighted to announce the Winners and Runners-Up of The Queen's Commonwealth Essay Competition 2018. Senior Winner Zahra Hussain, 17, is from Lahore, Pakistan and Senior Runner-Up Ng Woon Neng, 16, is from Singapore. Junior Winner Janine Shum, 13, is from Singapore and Junior Runner-Up Floria Gu, 13, is from Vancouver, Canada."