Malala Yousafzai, the 22-year-old campaigner for girls’ education who was shot in the head by the Taliban at age 15, targeted for her efforts speaking up for girls' education, has joined thousands of other students this summer in finishing her university degree.
Yousafzai studied politics, philosophy, and economics (PPE) at Lady Margaret Hall at the University of Oxford, and has just finished the notoriously gruelling final year exams.
Photographed covered in confetti and garlands of flowers over her exam robes — as per tradition for Oxford students at the end of their degree — she tweeted that it was “hard to express my joy and gratitude right now”.
“I don’t know what’s ahead,” her message continued. “For now, it will be Netflix, reading, and sleep.”
Hard to express my joy and gratitude right now as I completed my Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree at Oxford. I don’t know what’s ahead. For now, it will be Netflix, reading and sleep. 😴 pic.twitter.com/AUxN55cUAf
— Malala (@Malala) June 19, 2020
Yousafzai became a co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize when she was just 17 years old, and is the youngest person ever to be awarded the prize.
She’s become a global inspiration for her determination to fight for girls’ right to education — in her home country Pakistan and around the world — despite the assasination attempt to stop her advocacy.
After surviving the attack, she went on to establish the Malala Fund, an organisation that supports the work of education champions in developing countries.
But that’s not all. In the past seven years, Yousafzai has campaigned against the Rohingya genocide, the terrorism of Boko Haram, and countries that shut their borders to refugees.
She’s also written a feminist children’s book and one day wants to shatter the ultimate glass ceiling by becoming Pakistan’s prime minister.
After sharing her end of exams photos on Thursday, tributes and messages from around the world poured in as her message was liked over 450,000 times.
Now she has completed her undergraduate education, in defiance of those who tried to stop her, let’s hope she takes some much deserved rest. We can’t wait to see what she accomplishes next.