Malala Day 2024: Lesser-known facts about Malala Yousafzai-The youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate
Malala Day 2024: The renowned Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai celebrates her 27th birthday today
Born in 1997 in Mingora, Pakistan, Yousafzai, an advocate for girls' education, survived a Pakistani Taliban assassination attempt when she was just 15 years old when they shot her in the head.
In October 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban gunmen for actively supporting girls' right to education in Mingora, Swat Valley in northern Pakistan following which she left the country and shifted to Birmingham, UK.
Malala also underlined the importance of girl's education, calling it a 'social movement' and vowed that she would continue to advocate it in her home country.
At the age of 17, Malala was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her contributions to and struggle for promoting education for children.
Malala Yousafzai is scared of ghosts due to her aunties' stories. In many Pakistani villages, homes were lit only by oil lamps, whose flickering light created eerie reflections on the walls. In this setting, Malala's grandmother would recite Pashto couplets, and her aunties would tell ghost stories to encourage children to sleep.
Malala Yousafzai donated all her Nobel Peace Prize money to charity. She won the prize alongside Kailash Satyarthi, an activist fighting to end child labor in India.
Malala Yousafzai enjoyed reading Stephanie Meyer's Twilight when the Taliban arrived in her hometown, finding the books so influential that she and her friend, both 10 years old at the time, wished to be vampires.
Malala Yousafzai has a fondness for comedy, with a particular love for Ted Lasso, partly because the character's moustache reminds her of her father.
At just 11 years old, Malala Yousafzai began secretly blogging for BBC Urdu, anonymously sharing her experiences and perspectives on living under Taliban control.
Malala Yousafzai's story is one of incredible bravery and unwavering commitment to education and equality.
As she celebrates her birthday, her legacy continues to inspire people worldwide to fight for the rights of girls and women, ensuring that education remains a fundamental right for all.
- With inputs from agencies
