RENOWNED for her advocacy for girls’ education and their rights, Malala Yousafzai continues to be an influential figure globally. Speaking at the 21st Nelson Mandela Annual Peace Lecture in Johannesburg, South Africa in December 2023, Malala drew the world’s attention to what she calls “gender apartheid” en forced by the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, denying girls and women the right to education and work in the name of religion. “South Africans fought for racial apartheid to berecognised and criminalised at the international level…But gender apartheid has not been explicitly codified yet,” the youngest No bel Prize laureate said, calling on governments to make gender apartheid a crime against humanity.
She even suggested that the United Nations should add and adapt language on gender apartheid to the new Crimes Against Humanity Treaty that it is currently drafting. Malala was only 15 years old when she was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for daring to pursue an education in Swat Valley, Pakistan in October 2012. After recovering in the United Kingdom, she continued her fight for girls and founded the Malala Fund with her father, Ziauddin, in 2013. The charity is dedicated to “giving every girl an opportunity to achieve a future she chooses,” and its Education Champion Network sup ports the work of educators and advocates helping bolster girls’ secondary education around the world. At the age of 17, Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which she shared with India’s Kailash Satyarthi in 2014.
They were honoured with the prestigious award for their struggles against the suppression of children and their work for the right to education. Last year, the activist was bestowed with a prestigious honorary fellowship by Oxford University’s Linacre College, becoming the first Pakistani to receive the honour. The 26-year-old is currently working on her second memoir, which will be her “most per sonal book yet” and it will be based on the activist’s life after the events that happened since her first book I Am Malala was published in 2013. “I am overjoyed to announce that I am working on my next book! The last few years of my life have been marked by extraordinary transformation – finding independence, partnership and, ultimately, myself,” she posted on X to announce the news.
“This October will be a decade since I Am Malala was published, shortly after my 16th birthday. I am excited to share what has happened since and continue my journey with the incredible teams at Atria books in the US, W&N books in the UK and more countries coming soon,” she wrote. Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, also confirmed the news about her upcoming book but said it is currently untitled and has no scheduled date of release yet. Her first memoir I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, became a million-seller, winning several awards. So far, the book has been translated into more than 40 languages. In 2014, a children’s edition of the memoir was published under the title I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World, which won the 2015 Gram my Award for Best Children’s Album. Her other previous books include Malala’s Magic Pencil (2017), a picture book authored by her and illustrated by Kerascoët, and We Are Displaced: My Journey and Stories from Refugee Girls Around the World (2019). Malala also has a production company, called Extracurricular which has collaborated with Apple TV+ for various films and television projects that focus on women and children. The list includes a feature film adaptation of Elaine Hsieh Chou’s acclaimed book Disorientation and a scripted series based on Asha Lemmie’s coming-of-age novel, Fifty Words for Rain.
She was the executive producer of Stanger at the Gate, a documentary about a US Marine veteran who plotted to blow up a mosque in his hometown, and then had a pang of con science and ended up befriending the very people he wanted to harm. It reached the 2023 Oscars shortlist for short documentary film. In 2020, Malala graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics, and became more dedicated than ever to her fight for girls. The following year, she tied the knot with Asser Malik, a manager with the Paki stan Cricket Board, in a small Islamic ceremony in Birmingham. According to Malala, they first met in the summer of 2018 when Malik was visiting friends at Oxford, and became best friends. Speaking to The Times, she described her husband as her “amazing friend and companion” who supports her in her work. “I literally feel the same as I was feeling before. And I think that’s what you want in a good relationship,” she said. Malala also wrote in Vogue, “I still don’t have all the answers for the challenges facing women – but I believe that I can enjoy friendship, love and equality in marriage.” Malala has consistently remained commit ted to advocating for education and women’s rights, and her marital status has not altered her dedication to these causes. In February 2022, the activist condemned the ban on female students wearing the hijab to school in Karnataka, south India. “Refusing to let girls go to school in their hi jabs is horrifying. Objectification of women per sists – for wearing less or more,” wrote Malala. She called on calling on India’s leaders to stop the “marginalisation of Muslim women”. The local administration that introduced the rule simply argued that in a place of education overt symbols of faith were not permitted and pupils should follow the accepted uniform dress code. A new administration rescinded the original order last year. Earlier, Malala met flood victims in her native Pakistan and pledged up to $700,000 to organisations in the country. It was her second visit to her home country since being shot by the Taliban a decade ago. In Fort Bend, US, a school has been named in honour of Nobel Peace Prize recipient and it is known as Malala Elementary. There is even an International Mala la Day – which is celebrated world wide on 12 July every year to commemorate her remarkable journey and relent less advocacy for girls’ education.
