Strasbourg (France) (AFP) - Pakistani teenager Malala Yousafzai was handed the EU's prestigious Sakharov human rights prize Wednesday in recognition of her crusade for the right of all children, girls and boys, to an education. To thunderous applause announcing the European Parliament prize, the assembly's president Martin Schulz praised the 16-year-old activist as "a survivor, a heroine and an extraordinary young woman" and said: "You have given hope to millions of people." Malala, dressed in orange and with her father Ziauddin at her side, became the 25th winner of the Sakharov prize at the ceremony significantly held on World Children's Day, with 21 of the former winners present. Past winners of the 50,000 euro ($68,000) prize also include South African anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela and former UN secretary general Kofi Annan.