Harvard's Humanitarian of the Year: Malala

The teenage Pakistani girl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban has been honored as Harvard University's humanitarian of the year. Malala Yousafzai, an outspoken proponent for girls' education, accepted the honor yesterday at the university. She spoke nostalgically about her home region, the Swat Valley, and said she hopes to return someday. She called it a "paradise" but described a dangerous area where militants blew up dozens of schools and sought to discourage girls from going to school by snatching pens from their hands. Students, she said, reacted by hiding their books under their shawls so people wouldn't know they were going to school. (Malala also is nominated for a coveted human rights prize.)