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Harvard Honors 16-Year-Old Pakistani Girl Who Survived Taliban Assassination Attempt

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — A Pakistani girl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban is being honored as Harvard's 2013 humanitarian of the year.

WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports

Harvard Honors 16-Year-Old Pakistani Girl Who Survived Taliban Assassination Attempt

Malala Yousafzai, an outspoken proponent for girls' education, was at Harvard on Friday to accept the Peter J. Gomes Humanitarian Award. Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said she was pleased to welcome Malala because of their shared interest in education.

The 16-year-old Malala said in a media availability that she is hoping to become a politician, because politicians can have influence on a broad scale. She also spoke nostalgically about her home region, the Swat Valley, and said she hopes to return some day.

Malala was shot in the head last October. Local militants have said she was attacked because she was critical of the Taliban, not due to her views on girls' education.

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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