A young woman from Swat has made brought a major to honour to Pakistan by winning the Global Citizen Youth Leader award.

Saidu Sharif’s Hadiqa Bashir, who is only 22 years old, is the first Pakistani to win the award.

Bashir is an activist working for the education and rights of women in the Swat region and has founded the ‘Girls United for Human Rights’.

She has also focused on fighting the practice of underaged marriages of girls in the area.

“Hadiqa champions gender equality in tribal regions, emphasising education’s transformative power for young girls,” Global Citizen said.

“Through a dynamic blend of leadership and advocacy, she continues to make significant contributions to social justice and sustainable development in Pakistan, embodying the spirit of positive change,” it added in its profile of Bashir.

The activist has already received the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian Award, Asian Girls Ambassador Award and has also been a finalist for the Commonwealth Award.

Bashir hails from the same area as Malala Yousafzai, who became a Nobel laureate and global celebrity for her work for women’s education.

This year, Global Citizen is honouring 32 young innovators and advocates working to address the issues perpetuating extreme poverty from across the Asia-Pacific region.

The winners of the award will be given funding to solve social issues in their community and to expand their ongoing efforts.

All 32 people who win the award will also be given invited to a Youth Leadership Summit in Melbourne where they will be able to interact and fom linkages on a global scale.