The 16-year-old has been nominated for the 2014 World's Children's Prize with John Wood from the US, who has given millions of children in 10 countries access to libraries and education, and Nepalese child rights worker Indira Ranamagar.
Every year, the World's Children's Prize Child Jury, comprising around 15 children from across the globe, selects three final candidates for the award. The award is given by a Sweden-based organisation.
The World's Children's Prize website said Yousafzai, currently living in Britain with her family, was nominated for her "courageous and dangerous fight for girls" right to education".
"Malala defied the rules and kept going to school. Her life was under threat and at times she had to go into hiding. Finally, at the age of 15 Malala was shot and almost killed by the Taliban on her way home from school. But Malala survived," it added.
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The Taliban thought they could "silence Malala by killing her" but instead "they gave her an even stronger voice, which can now be heard all over the world", the website said.
The annual program concludes with a "Global Vote", where children work together to choose their Child Rights Hero. "Global Vote Days" are held in schools around the world like a democratic election.
The award programme, launched in 2000, is supported by 60,000 schools with 29.3 million students in 109 countries and over 600 organisations.