Shangla: Nobel laureate and education activist Malala Yousafzai visited her hometown, Barkana, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district on Wednesday for the first time since surviving an assassination attempt by the Taliban in 2012.
Malala, who was shot in the face by militants at the age of 15 due to her advocacy for girls’ education, has since become a global icon for women's rights. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 and has been actively working for education reforms worldwide.
During her visit, Malala met with family members, including her uncle, Ramazan, who recently underwent heart surgery in Islamabad. She also visited the graves of her ancestors. Accompanied by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, and her husband, Asser Malik, she arrived in Barkana via helicopter, according to Karora Station House Officer (SHO) Amjad Alam Khan.
A key highlight of her visit was a stop at the girls’ school and college she established in Barkana in 2018. The institution, which provides free education to around 1,000 girls, was the first of its kind in the district. Malala interacted with students, inspected classrooms, and encouraged young girls to focus on their studies for a brighter future. She assured them that her Malala Fund would continue supporting quality education in the area.
Malala also met with her maternal relatives at the home of Faiz Ahmad. Education activist Shahzad Roy, who runs the Shangla Girls School and College under the Zindagi Trust, briefed her on the facilities provided at the institution.
This marks Malala’s latest visit to Pakistan, following her trip in January, when she attended an education summit in Islamabad and spoke about the challenges faced by women in Taliban-controlled regions. She previously visited Pakistan in 2018 and again in 2022, when she met with victims of devastating monsoon floods.
After her brief stay in Barkana, Malala returned to Islamabad.
