Trump signs Malala Yousafzai Scholarship into law

WASHINGTON: The Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Bill was signed into law by United States President Donald Trump earlier this week.

According to a bill announcement issued by the White House, the US president signed off on the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act on January 13.

Under the Act, US Agency of International Development (USAID) will be awarding at 50% of the merit and needs-based scholarship programmes across a wide range of academic disciplines to Pakistani women who meet the existing eligibility criteria.

The Act was passed by the US House of Representatives last year in March and was voted into existence by the US Congress on January 1, 2021.

On October 2012, Malala was shot in the head at point-blank range by the Taliban as she was returning home from her school in Swat valley.

Two years later, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts for children’s rights.

She then became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017, with a special focus on girls’ education. Last year, Malala was chosen by Teen Vogue as as its cover person for its last issue of the decade and was also declared by the UN as “the most famous teenager in the world” in its Decade in Review.