Malala Yousafzai’s Life Story, As Told By A Young Indian Fan Girl

On Malala Yousafzai’s 22nd birthday, a young Indian fan tells her extraordinary tale.

Picture of Malala Yousafzai (centre), and author of the article, Nishtha Gautam’s daughter Nyasa, used for representational purposes.

(Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

(This story was originally published on 12.07.17, and has been republished on the occasion of Malala’s 22nd birthday. The article has been updated to reflect the passage of time, and the current age of the protagonist.)

Cameraperson: Athar Rather
Video Editor: Hitesh Singh

“You don’t have to be as old as the very young Prime Minister Trudeau to be a leader,” Malala Yousafzai told the children of Canada in 2017. She was addressing the House of Commons. Recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, Malala has become a household name. She has been crusading for girls’ right to education across the world: from the Swat valley in Pakistan to the Syrian refugee camps.

After Malala was shot by the Taliban when she was on her way to school in Swat, a sea of supporters surged on the streets of Pakistan. The government was forced to ratify the Right to Free and Compulsory Education Bill. After winning the Nobel, she donated USD 50,000 of the prize money for rebuilding a school in Gaza. Here is a peek into Malala’s extraordinary life as told by a (then) seven-year-old fan of hers.

Malala’s Twitter debut in 2017 had set social media abuzz. She turns 22 today. She stepped out of her “teens” two years ago on this day. Not that she ever had the luxury of being a regular teenager.