Five years ago to the day, Malala Yousafzai survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban for her public advocation for girls’ education. At age 17, she became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize for her continuing fight for human rights. On Monday, she attended her first-ever lecture at Oxford University, marking an incredible journey in such a short span of time.
The Pakistani advocate tweeted her excitement over the new achievement.
Yousafzai announced in August that she would attend Oxford University in the U.K.
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On October 9, 2012, a gunman shot Yousafzai in the head on her way home from school.
A year later, Yousafzai told the world, “I want to serve the people and I want every girl, every child, to be educated.”
She went on to organize the Malala Fund, write the best-selling I Am Malala, which has been translated into over 40 languages, travel the world, and win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Winning the prize only propelled Yousafzai’s stardom further. But it is her simple drive to learn, and for others to learn, that fundamentally defines her work.
“Let us pick up our books and our pens,” she wrote in her book. “They are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.”
