Malala Yousafzai Visits Hometown After 13 Years
- Abeera Marium Siddiqui
- March 7, 2025
- 10:50 am
- 134
- Trending
Malala Yousafzai visits hometown after 13 years, reuniting with family, visiting schools, and highlighting the importance of girls’ education.
Malala Yousafzai visits hometown after 13 years, making an emotional return to Barkana in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Shangla district. The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who survived a Taliban attack in 2012, visited her childhood village on Wednesday. It was her first time back since being evacuated to the UK after the attack.
An Emotional Homecoming
Malala, who was 15 when she was shot in the face by the Pakistani Taliban in Swat, arrived in Barkana by helicopter. She was accompanied by her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, her husband, Asser Malik, and her brother. Security was tight, and the area was sealed off for several hours for her safety.
During the visit, Malala met her relatives and visited her family’s ancestral graveyard. She also saw her uncle, Ramazan, who recently underwent heart surgery in Islamabad. Later, she spent time with her maternal relative, Faiz Ahmad, and other family members.
Visiting the School She Established
Malala Yousafzai visits hometown after 13 years and stops by the school and college she founded in 2018. These institutions provide free education to nearly 1,000 girls in a district that had no functional government girls’ college before.
She toured classrooms, met students, and encouraged them to continue their education. Education activist Shehzad Roy, who runs the Shangla Girls School and College under Zindagi Trust, was also present. He updated Malala on the facilities and support available to students. The Malala Fund continues to help the school, ensuring access to quality education for girls.
A Journey Full of Memories
Malala expressed her happiness on social media. “As a child, I spent every holiday in Shangla, Pakistan, playing by the river and sharing meals with my extended family,” she wrote on X.
“It was such a joy for me to return there today — after 13 long years — to be surrounded by the mountains, dip my hands in the cold river and laugh with my beloved cousins. This place is very dear to my heart and I hope to return again and again.”
Though brief, her visit was filled with memories and hope. Malala, a global advocate for girls’ education, once again highlighted the need for better education opportunities.
After spending a few hours in Barkana, Malala and her family returned to Islamabad.
