Malala Gets Married Years After Surviving Taliban’s Assassination

By James Orji

Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist who was shot on the head by Talibans in 2012 has announced that she is now married. The youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, disclosed this on Tuesday on her Instagram post, thus putting an end to speculation that she will never get married.

Early this year, this activist had expressed doubt on whether she will get married after her parents tried to “arrange love marriage” for her, she told British Vogue, a United Kingdom based tabloid.

Speaking on her marriage, Malala said “Today marks a precious day in my life,” she wrote. “Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. We celebrated a small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham with our families. Please send us your prayers. We are excited to walk together for the journey ahead.”

Her parents, Ziauddin and Toor Pekai Yousafzai, shared their excitement along with some photos by their daughter’s friend, photographer Malin Fezehai.

“It is beyond words. Toor Pekai and I are overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. Alhamdulillah,” her father tweeted.

In 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban terrorists in Pakistan for her campaign for the education of girls.

Recalling the incident, the activist said “in October 2012, a member of the Pakistani Taliban boarded my school bus and shot one bullet into my left temple. The bullet grazed my left eye, skull and brain – lacerating my facial nerve, shattering my eardrum and breaking my jaw joints”.

Immediately after she was shot by the Islamists Malala, who was only 15 at the time, covered her face with her hands and tried to bend down before she collapsed.

After the shooting, emergency surgeons in Peshawar removed her left temporal skull bone to create space for her brain to swell. Their quick action saved her life, but soon her organs began to fail. She was airlifted first to the capital of Islamabad and then to the UK for further treatment.

“When I opened my eyes, I was relieved to realise I was alive. But I didn’t know where I was or why I was surrounded by strangers speaking English,” Malala recalled.