Top 15 Astonishing Facts about Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai speaks to DFID staff to discuss the importance of girls’ education. Picture: Ricci Coughlan/DFID. WIKIMEDIA

Top 15 Astonishing Facts about Malala Yousafzai

*Originally published by Hellen M on July 15th 2022 and Updated by Vanessa R on June 2023

Yousafzai was born on 12 July 1997. She was born in the Swat District of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Malala is a Pakistani activist for female education. She is a 2014 Nobel peace prize laureate. She was awarded at the age of 17. The second Pakistani and the first Pashtun to ever receive a Nobel Prize.

Yousafzai is well-established for human rights advocacy. Her main concern is the education of women and children in her native swat. This is after the Pakistani Taliban has at times banned girls from attending school.

Her advocacy for women’s education has grown into an international movement. The former prime minister of Pakistan, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, said that she has become Pakistan’s most prominent citizen.

Let’s learn more interesting facts about Yousafzai Malala.

1. Malala was Brought up in a Lower Middle-Class Family

Malala Yousafzai- Education for girls. Photo Sourced from WIKIMEDIA

She was born on 12 July 1997 in the Swat District of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. She was born and brought up in a lower-middle-class family.

Malala’s family is Sunni Muslims of Pashtun Ethnicity. They belong to the Yousafzai tribe. During her birth, the family had not enough money for a hospital birth. She was born at home with the help of neighbours.

Her first name malala means Grief-stricken. She was named after Malalai of Maiwand. A famous Pashtun poet and warrior woman from southern Afghanistan.

She lived with her two younger brothers and parents at her house in Mingora. She also lived with two chickens.

2. Malala was Motivated by her Father’s Thoughts and Humanitarian Work

She is the daughter of education activist Ziauddin Yousafzai. Her role models are Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Barack Obama and Benazir Bhutto.

Ziauddin was a teacher and ran a chain of schools throughout the Local region. He continuously encourages all of his children to learn despite societal restrictions.

Malala’s dream was to become a doctor. She changed her mind after she was encouraged by her father to become a politician instead.

Ziauddin said that her daughter is entirely special. Thus, allowing her to stay up at night and have a discussion about politics. Malala credits her father for inspiring her to pursue further education and Humanitarian work.

3. Malala Yousafzai worked as a Blogger for BBC Urdu

Malala Yousafzai in a previous meeting. Sourced from WIKIMEDIA

In 2008, Aamer Ahmed Khan of the BBC website and his colleagues were searching for a schoolgirl to blog. The girl was to anonymously write about her school life.

However, they couldn’t find any volunteers. As their families feared for their daughters’ lives. Finally, Ziauddin Yousafzai suggested his daughter take the role.

At that time malala was 10 years old. She began blogging in secret, anonymously chronicling her life and her perspective on the rule of the Taliban.

The Pakistan Taliban Militants led by Maulana Fazlullah took over the Swat valley. They banned television, music, girls’ education and women from going shopping.

Her first entry was on 3 January 2009. She posted an entry to the BBC Urdu Blog. She wrote the notes and passed them to a reporter for safety. The report scanned the notes and emailed them.

The blog was about her thoughts during the First Battle of Swat. She explained how fewer girls attended school and finally the school shut down.

4. Malala Spoke out against Pakistani Taliban at a Tender Age

Malala Yousafzai. Author: Southbank Centre. WIKIMEDIA

She was around 15 years old when the Taliban began to take over the region where they lived. They demanded that all Islamic people follow Islamic Sharia law.

Women were not supposed to be seen out. If a woman left her home, she was to wear a burqa (a garment that covers the body, head, and face) and must be accompanied by a male relative.

They gained more control and demanded schools be shut down. Girls’ schools that were not shut down were burned or destroyed.

This led to Malala speaking out against the Taliban’s actions. She delivered her speech in September 2008 during a press club in Peshawar. She questioned the Taliban for taking away her basic right to education.

5. An Assassination Attempt was Compelled Against her at the Age of 15

Malala Yousafzai is a campaigner who in 2012 was shot for her activist work. Author; Southbank Centre. WIKIMEDIA

An assassination attempt was made against her at the age of 15 by the Pakistani Taliban. The Taliban went against her after her BBC blogging identity was revealed.

She rose to fame after appearing on television to publicly advocate for female Education. As she became more recognised, the threats increased.

The death threats were published in newspapers and slipped under her door. She received them on Facebook too.

Eventually, a Pakistani Taliban spokesman said that they were forced to act. In the summer of 2012, Taliban leaders unanimously agreed to kill her.

However, She was shot on 9 October 2012. She was going home on bis after taking an exam in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. She was 15 years old at this time.

A masked gunman shot Malala with one bullet. It travelled 18 inches from the side of her left eye, through her neck and landed on her shoulder. Two other girls were victims of the shooting.

She was treated in a military hospital in Peshawar. She later received further treatment in Birmingham, England. Malala woke up from her coma on October 17th, 2022. She continued to receive medical treatments until her full recovery.

The action gained worldwide news coverage. It evoked feelings of anger and sympathy. Various world leaders, such as Pakistan’s Asif Ali Zardari, UN’s Ban Ki-moon, and US’s Barack Obama spoke out against the incident and the Pakistani Taliban.

6. Malala Welcomed her 16th Birthday by Delivering a Speech

Malala Yousafzai speaks to DFID staff. Author: DFID. WIKIMEDIA

She celebrated her 16th birthday by giving a speech at the United Nations headquarters. It was her first speech after her attack. During the ceremony, she dressed in one of the shawls of the late Benazir Bhutto, Pakistani’s first female prime minister.

Malala’s speech was about Women’s basic human rights, such as the right to education. This is after the Pakistani Taliban tried to end education.

She requested the government to introduce free and compulsory education. To ensure a brighter future for children worldwide.

7. Malala Yousafzai is the youngest person to receive a Nobel Prize

One of the most notable facts about Malala is her status as the youngest Nobel prize laureate in history. She is alt second Pakistan in history to receive one.

Malala received the prize on October 10th 2014. The Nobel Prize was awarded to her in Norway along with children’s rights advocate Kailash Satyarthi. She was 17 years old.

8. Malala is the Youngest Un Messenger of Peace

Malala received the highest honour in 2017. This is the honour given by the United Nations to citizens. She was designated as a Un messenger of peace.

This is because of her passion and dedication to creating a better world. As a messenger of peace, she still talks about the importance of education for all and equal basic human rights.

9. Malala is the Co-founder of The Malala Fund

Malala Yousafzai established the Malala fund with her father in 2013. It is based in Birmingham and England. It is a non-profit organization committed to catering for free, safe and quality education.

Interestingly, actress Angelina Jolie was the first person to contribute to the organization. Her donation was $200,000 to fund the education of girls from the Swat District.

The Malala fund has distributed funds for the creation of schools, classrooms and education programs for girls in different countries. These countries are Kenya, India, Ethiopia, Pakistan and Turkey.

10. The United Nations Officially Dubbed July 12th as “Malala Day”

Due to her bravery in humanity, she became a symbol of resistance and a beacon of hope for girls all over the world. To honour her actions, the united Nations marked a special day as Malala Day.

However, Malala said that it is not her day but for everybody. Especially to those who have raised their voices for the right of humanity.Regardless of age. The day is celebrated on 12 July.

Yousafzai Graduated from Oxford University in 2020. She was enrolled at Oxford university in 2017. She sets a good example to every girl about the importance of education.

11. She graduated from Oxford University

Presidencia de la República Mexicana, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Her graduation from Oxford University is one of the more recent Malala Yousafzai facts. She enrolled in Oxford University’s programme of study in 2017. Lady Margaret Hall, a college in Oxford, served as her place of study.

At this college in the 1970s, Benazir Bhutto also attended classes. Malala stated she joined the cricket club, the Oxford Pakistan Society, and the Oxford Union while she was a student there. She also described living a very regular college life, saying that the night before an essay was due, she would usually start cramming at 11 p.m.

12. She’s good friends with other activists

Yousafzai’s close friends include gun control activists Emma González and Greta Thunberg. Even more, Thunberg paid her a visit while she was studying at Oxford. She’s described their friendship as powerful and especially because they all have a common vision and mission.

13. She used to believe that marriage should be a partnership 

DFID – UK Department for International Development, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Interestingly, Yousafzai does not understand why people need a legal document to become bound. Instead, she had said that partnerships made more sense and she said that she was not interested in marriage but instead would wish to work on her career but she people change and she’s now married to Asser Malik. She later added that she was not for marriage because she feared that she would lose her humanity, independence, and womanhood because it didn’t seem like it was in line with feminism. 

Yousafzai ultimately made the decision to get married after understanding that she had found the right partner to walk through life with, despite the fact that she was aware that marriage is far from a perfect institution.

14. She’s a Twilight fan

When the Taliban invaded her hometown, the young activist remembered reading Twilight by Stephanie Meyer, as she recalled in her book I Am Malala. Malala and her friend, both 10 at the time, “longed to be vampires” as a result of the novels’ huge influence.

15. Apart from being an activist she also has a favourite meal and loves comedy

Yousafzai enjoys watching television, but she also enjoys comedy in particular. For starters, she adores Ted Lasso (not only because she compares his moustache to her father’s). She enjoys nothing more than eating a Jamaican curry while binge-watching Rick and Morty in her free time.

Malala is a fantastic example that regardless of someone’s age anyone can always make a big difference. She chose to use her voice in a country where she could have lived under fear and that has given many women a second chance and also opened other doors for her.