WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump signed the law that will be awarding50 percent of the merit and needs-based scholarship programmes to Pakistaniwomen.

The Scholarship Billlink wassigned into law by United States President Donald Trump earlier this weekand is named after noble laureate Malala Yousafzai.

White House announced that the US president signed off on the MalalaYousafzai Scholarship Act on January 13. Under the Act, the US Agency ofInternational Development (USAID) will be awarding scholarships across awide range of academic disciplines to the candidates who meet therequisites.

The Malala Yousafzai Scholarship act was passed by the US House ofRepresentatives last year in March and was voted into existence by the USCongress on January 1, 2021.

It also required USAID to consult with the Pakistani private sector toimprove and expand access to education programmes in Pakistan.

Earlier in October 2012, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban as shewas returning home from her school in Swat. Two years later, she became theyoungest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her effortsfor children’s rights. She then became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017,with a special focus on girls’ education.

Last year, the 23-year-old was chosen by Teen Vogue as its cover person forits last issue of the decade and was also declared by the UN as “the mostfamous teenager in the world” in its Decade in Review.