Nobel peace laureate Malala wins place at Oxford University
NOBEL peace laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban for advocating education for girls in her native Pakistan, has won a place to study at England’s Oxford University.
“So excited to go to Oxford!!” the 20-year-old posted on Twitter yesterday, with a picture of the message she had received confirming her acceptance for its philosophy, politics and economics course.
It came on the day that students across Britain received the results of their A-levels, exams taken at the end of secondary school.
Yousafzai was just 15 years old when she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in October 2012 as she travelled home by bus to her village in the Swat valley, after writing an exam.
She was flown to the central English city of Birmingham for treatment – and has lived there with her family since, continuing her education and activism.
Yousafzai was granted the Nobel Peace prize at age 17, in 2014, along with India’s Kailash Satyarthi for their championing for the rights of children.
Last month, she opened a new Twitter account on her last day of school – an experience she described as bittersweet.
“I know that millions of girls around the world are out of school and may never get the opportunity to complete their education,” Yousafzai wrote. But she said she was extremely excited about her future – and promised to continue fighting for girls.
Oxford’s philosophy, politics and economics syllabus is a prestigious course that has produced many British politicians and world leaders, including late Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. – AFP