The United States Congress has passed a bill named after Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai to give Pakistani women a chance to get more scholarships under new merit and needs-based programme.

The Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act was passed by the House of Representatives in March last year, and the US Senate adopted it by a voice vote last Friday, according to the congress website. It has now been sent to US President Donald Trump to sign it into law.

The bill requires the United States Agency for International Development to award at least 50% of scholarships to Pakistani women, across a range of academic disciplines and in accordance with existing eligibility criteria.

On October 2012, Malala was shot in the head at point-blank range by the Taliban as she was returning home from her school in Swat valley. Two years later, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts for children's rights.

She then became a UN Messenger of Peace in 2017, with a special focus on girls’ education. Last year, Malala was chosen by Teen Vogue as its cover person for its last issue of the decade and was also declared by the UN as "the most famous teenager in the world" in its Decade in Review.