Nov. 10, 2021

Malala Yousafzai, the campaigner for girls’ education and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who survived being shot aged 15 by a Taliban gunman in her native Pakistan in 2012, has got married, she said on social media on Tuesday.

The 24-year-old, who lives in Britain, said she and her new husband, who she named only as Asser, had wed in the city of Birmingham and celebrated at home with their families.

“Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life,” she wrote on Twitter, adding four pictures to her post.

Malala gave no other information about her husband apart from his first name. Internet users identified him as Asser Malik, general manager of the Pakistan Cricket Board’s High Performance Centre. Reuters could not confirm this.

Malala is revered in many parts of the world, especially in Western countries, for her personal courage and her eloquence in advocating for the rights of girls and women. In Pakistan, her activism has divided public opinion.

As recently as July this year, Malala told British Vogue magazine that she was not sure if she would ever marry.

“I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?” she was quoted as saying in a lengthy profile.

The comment drew criticism from many social media users in Pakistan at the time.

REUTERS