Malala Yousafzai Has Officially Graduated From Oxford University
Malala Yousafzai posted two gorgeous photos of the day
She’s done it. Malala Yousafzai graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics just eight years after being shot in the head by the Taliban.
Yousafzai looked joyful in the photos posted to social media, too. “Hard to express my joy and gratitude right now,” Yousafzai tweeted Friday. “I don’t know what’s ahead. For now, it will be Netflix, reading and sleep.” I think she deserves at least a little time off before saving the world.
In one photo, it looks as though she celebrating her graduation with friends and family; and in the other, she’s caked head-to-toe in confetti as part of a tradition the university calls a “trashing,” where students are covered with food and confetti after completing their exams.
The Pakistani-born activist, now 22, shared photos in the weeks leading up to her graduation. “Keeping traditions alive at home, she posted on Instagram. First exam’s done seven more to go!”
“I loved school,” Yousafzai wrote on her website. “But everything changed when the Taliban took control of our town in Swat Valley. The extremists banned many things — like owning a television and playing music — and enforced harsh punishments for those who defied their orders. And they said girls could no longer go to school.”
It was after publicly protesting that a gunman boarded Yousafzai’s school bus and shot her in the head. In honor of the work she’s done to further girl’s education and fight against the suppression of women, Yousafzai received the Nobel Peace Prize in December 2014 and became the youngest-ever Nobel laureate.
Yousafzai also founded the Malala Fund which works to help the over 130,000,000 girls around the world who are not currently in school. “Through our Education Champion Network, we invest in local educators and advocates — the people who best understand girls in their communities — in regions where the most girls are missing out on secondary school,” she wrote. Yousafzai also works tirelessly to hold governments and leaders accountable and amplifies girls’ voices through the fund’s newsletter.
When Yousafzai’s not studying or working with her organizations, she’s been known to hang out with some pretty impressive friends, including Greta Thunberg who she spent time with this year at Oxford.
She may not know what’s next, but it’s pretty clear to the rest of us that whatever Yousafzai does, she will be an inspiration to millions of people around the globe.
