Malala signs Apple TV deal to produce new dramas, documentaries

NOBEL Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has partnered with Apple TV+ to produce dramas and documentaries that focus on women and children.

Malala and her production company, Extracurricular, is expanding an already existing partnership with Apple, a blog post on the company's website said on Monday (8).

In 2018, the iPhone maker teamed up with her on "Malala Fund" that seeks to extend secondary education opportunities to girls' across the globe.

The multi-year partnership would "draw on her ability to inspire people around the world", the company said in a statement, adding that content would also include animation and children's series.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity to support women, young people, writers, and artists in reflecting the world as they see it," the 23-year-old was quoted as saying.

"I believe in the power of stories to bring families together, forge friendships, build movements, and inspire children to dream."

She graduated from Britain's Oxford University last year and has since created a digital publication for girls and women, and formed her own TV production company.

Malala earned the wrath of the Taliban as a 10-year-old in rural northwest Pakistan when she began campaigning for education rights for girls.

At the time, the Pakistani Taliban had gained a significant foothold in the Swat Valley, imposing a fundamentalist version of Islam on areas they controlled -- banning education for girls and employment for women.

Yousafzai drew international attention with a series of blogs and articles she wrote about everyday life and hopes for a better future, but her fame incensed the Taliban, whose leadership ordered her murder.

In October 2012, a Taliban assassin shot the then-15-year-old as she rode home on a bus from school. The bullet struck near her left eye, went through her neck and lodged in her shoulder.

She recovered after months of treatment at home and abroad before co-writing a best-selling memoir titled "I am Malala", which drew even more international attention.

Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize as a 17-year-old in 2014, sharing the award with Kailash Satyarthi, a children's rights activist from India.