London
Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani teenager shot by the Taliban for daring to want an education, has completed her degree at Oxford University.
The 2014 Nobel Peace Prize winner, now 22, posted images on Twitter of her celebration early Friday upon completing a degree in philosophy, politics and economics. The human rights campaigner is covered in confetti in one image, and surrounded by her family in another.
“Hard to express my joy and gratitude right now as I completed my Philosophy, Politics and Economics degree at Oxford,” she tweeted. “I don’t know what’s ahead. For now, it will be Netflix, reading and sleep.”
The milestone was hard earned. Yousafzai was targeted by the Taliban for her relentless objections to the group’s regressive interpretation of Islam that limits girls’ access to education. She was shot while returning home from school in Pakistan’s scenic Swat Valley in 2012.
She travelled to the English city of Birmingham for medical treatment and her family eventually joined her. She went back to school as soon as she could but kept campaigning for the right to an education for others.
Her Twitter feed was flooded with expressions of goodwill, including one from NASA astronaut Anne McClain, who studied in England.
“Congratulations on your graduation Malala!” McClain tweeted. “For so many, higher education is the start of great things. For you, great things preceded it and I can only imagine the even greater ones to follow. The world is lucky to have you on it.”—AP
