It 's easy to guess what Malala Yousafzai would do with roughly $ 67,000 . Spend it to educate children , particularly girls in her native Pakistan , she has said in the past . But it was n't about the money when the 16-year-old , who survived a Taliban assassination attempt for her activism , picked up the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought from the European Parliament in Strasbourg , France , on Wednesday . She tried not to make the occasion about herself , after accepting the blue framed plaque and walking up to the microphone in high heels . She had worn them to be seen over the podium , she explained to the audience . Instead , Malala turned her acceptance speech into a plea on behalf of nearly 60 million children around the world , who ca n't go to school . Starving children , who live in fear . Children who dodge bullets and bombs . Girls whose families lock them away from the world inside their homes . `` This must shake our conscience , '' she admonished parliamentarians gathered to celebrate her win . She told them that she hoped those in the West would see beyond their own borders to help them . She pleaded specifically for help in her own country . She told them that the prize would encourage her to keep standing up against the Pakistan Taliban for the sake of education and would continue her work . `` Because of terrorism , hundreds of schools have been destroyed , '' she said . Making an impression . To the crowd , which included 22 former prize winners , the ceremony , which took place on World Children 's Day , was very much about Malala . They gave her a standing ovation . The teen , who still contends with nerve damage caused by a Taliban bullet , has impressed leaders in the parliament 's chambers and around the world with her `` incredible strength , '' as Parliament President Martin Schulz put it when first announcing that she had won the award on October 10 . The date was laden with symbolism . A year and a day before , she had faced down almost certain death to stand up for a girl 's right to go to school , when a Pakistan Taliban gunman fired at her nearly point blank as she rode home from school on an improvised bus . It nearly killed her . Doctors in Pakistan scrambled to save her life -- as her brain swelled -- before flying her to the UK , where a medical team worked on her recovery . Malala is used to making public speeches on bravery and education . Her first , in September 2008 , was titled `` How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to an education ? '' the EU parliament said . In 2009 , the Taliban banned girls from schools in Swat Valley , which she called home . She anonymously blogged for the BBC in opposition to that order and became an open advocate for girls ' education . In 2011 , Malala told CNN , `` I have the right of education . I have the right to play . I have the right to sing . I have the right to talk . '' Shared praise . Malala 's father , Ziauddin Yousafzai , sat silently next to her while Schulz , of Germany , heaped praise upon her . While he listened to the translation from German into English through an earphone , Schulz singled him out . Malala would not be who she is without her father , he said . `` Your father , Ziauddin Yousafzai , is a teacher , '' he said . `` He has expressed his views that boys and girls are equal . '' He encouraged her to blog and give interviews to the media , to protest against the Taliban , Schulz pointed out . `` Malala , I 'm sure you are as proud of your father as he is of you , '' he said . While applauding her bravery in the face of an assignation attempt , Schulz reminded the audience that Malala has said that this is not what she wants to be remembered for . She wants to be known as a girl who fought oppression to build education for all .
The young woman survived a Taliban assassination attempt . The prize has a cash award equivalent to about $ 67,000 . Malala turned her acceptance speech into a plea for help for children everywhere . The Afghan parliament 's president also heaped praise on her family for encouraging her .