Nobel laureate Malala awaits A-level results

Ms Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taleban in 2012 for advocating the education of girls.
Ms Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taleban in 2012 for advocating the education of girls.

LONDON • It is not unusual for teenagers to take a summer trip after finishing school, but Ms Malala Yousafzai is a bit different.

The 19-year-old Pakistani attended her last day of school in Birmingham, England, on Friday, a milestone for the activist who has fought for girls' education. She is awaiting the results of her A-level exams next month.

Ms Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, having risen to international prominence as a voice against Islamist violence. She escaped to Britain in 2012 after being shot in the head by the Taleban when she was 15.

Ms Yousafzai said on her new Twitter account on Friday that she would begin travelling next week to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to meet with girls. "I enjoyed my school years, and I am excited for my future," she wrote in her blog. "But I can't help thinking of millions of girls around the world who won't complete their education."

She founded the Malala Fund in 2013, an advocacy organisation to ensure girls' education worldwide.

She plans to attend college but has not said where.

In an interview with Teen Vogue in April, she said she was nervous about college.

"It is quite a good moment because you live without your parents and you live in a college, and that's the exciting part," she said.

"After that, I'm not sure what I'm going to do in terms of career, but I'm really sure that I'm going to be focused on the Malala Fund and the work we do for girls' education, so that's going to be my mission."

Ms Yousafzai has excelled at school. She has been offered a place to study at Oxford University. She has chosen to study philosophy, politics and economics, a prestigious course that has produced many British politicians and world leaders.

NYTIMES, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Sunday Times on July 09, 2017, with the headline Nobel laureate Malala awaits A-level results. Subscribe