Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai said she was in a chemistry class on Friday when a teacher informed her that she had become joint winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize, according to The Associated Press.
The 17-year-old, who was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls' right to education, is the youngest winner of the award, which she shared with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian campaigner against child trafficking and labor, the AP reported.
"I was totally sure I hadn't won it but then suddenly one of my teachers came to the class and she called me and she said 'I have something important to tell you'," Yousafzai said, according to the AP.
"I was totally surprised when she told me 'congratulations, you have won the Nobel Peace Prize and you are sharing it with a great person who is also working for children's rights'," she added.
Yousafzai said winning the Nobel Prize had strengthened her desire to campaign for the right of all children to an education, the AP reported.
"It's sometimes quite difficult to express your feelings but I felt really honored, I felt more powerful and more courageous because this award is not just a piece of metal or a medal that you would wear, or an award that you would keep in your room," Yousafzai said, according to the AP.
Unable to return to Pakistan after her recovery from the Taliban attack, Yousafzai set up the Malala Fund to support local education advocacy groups, the AP reported.
"I have received this award but this is not the end. This is not the end of this campaign which I have started. I think this is really the beginning. I want to see every child going to school," Yousafzai, according to the AP.
Beating the 1915 physics prize winner, 25-year-old Lawrence Bragg, Malala is the youngest Nobel laureate by eight years, the AP reported.
