‘Magical’ Taylor Swift concert is Nobel winner Malala’s first proper gig
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Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai (left) with her husband Asser Malik at Taylor Swift's concert in London on Aug 16.
PHOTO: MALALA/INSTAGRAM
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Even Nobel Peace Prize laureates are not immune to the power of Taylor Swift.
Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, 27, posted on Aug 17 about attending American superstar Swift’s concert held at the Wembley Stadium in London. She was at the second night of the 34-year-old singer’s five-night run of her sensational The Eras Tour from Aug 15 to 20.
She posted photos of herself with her husband, Mr Asser Malik, and her friends at the show. She also showed a picture of the many friendship bracelets she and her friends wore to the concert. There is a tradition of making, gifting and trading friendship bracelets for the Eras Tour, as inspired by lyrics from a song on Swift’s 2022 album Midnights.
The activist also revealed that Swift’s London show is the first proper concert she has attended. She called it a “magical” experience.
At 15, Yousafzai survived being shot in the head in Pakistan by a gunman after campaigning against the Pakistani Taliban’s moves to deny education to girls. She became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17.
She said in her post that Swift’s music, in particular the Romeo And Juliet-inspired love song Love Story (2008), is linked to one of her fondest memories of her time as a schoolgirl in Swat Valley, Pakistan.
She recalled once taking a field trip to a waterfall hidden in a mountain with her classmates, including her best friend Moniba, in middle school. She posted a picture of her and Moniba on the trip in the same post.
She wrote: “We were so excited because we were finally allowed to go to school again and could be outdoors with our friends, laughing and singing together. Having lived through a time where music and art were banned, music felt like a gift.
“Moniba and I found the highest rock we could, climbed on top of it and announced to all of our classmates and teachers we were going to perform our new favourite song called Love Story. We sang with all of our heart, taking in the joy we felt every second.
Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai with her best friend Moniba (left) on a field trip to a waterfall in middle school, when they sang Taylor Swift's song Love Story together.
PHOTO: MALALA/INSTAGRAM
“That’s where my Swiftie journey began. It feels magical that my first-ever proper concert would be to see Taylor Swift, singing along to every song surrounded by friends.”
The Taliban ruled Pakistan’s neighbouring Afghanistan in the late 1990s. Though its regime was toppled in 2001, it has since returned to power in Afghanistan and has banned music and the cultural arts, including the sale of instruments, in the country.
Yousafzai said: “In Swat, music made my friends and me feel confident and free. And one day, I hope we will live in a world where every girl will be able to enjoy music and live out her wildest dreams.”
Swift’s five-night run at the Wembley Stadium marks her first return to the concert stage since all three of her planned concerts in Vienna from Aug 8 to 10 were cancelled. The police in the Austrian capital had thwarted a terror attack plot targeting her shows.
