Malala Yousafzai and Asser Malik are married. Image Source: Clean Bowled

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai is married!

24-year-old activist, Malala Yousafzai took to her social media to announce that she and Pakistan Cricket Board’s manager, Asser Malik, are now married via a nikkah ceremony. She shared some pictures from the nikkah ceremony and said that it was a precious day for her.

In her caption, Malala wrote, "Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. We celebrated a small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham with our families". Since the announcement, wishes have been pouring in for the Nobel Peace Prize winner from Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who wrote, "Congratulations, Malala and Asser! Sophie and I hope you enjoyed your special day. We’re wishing you a lifetime of happiness together".

The couple had caught the public’s attention earlier this year when Asser Malik posted a picture of Malala Yousafzai on her 24th birthday with Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan’s debut in the background. Asser Malik is an entrepreneur and is the General Manager High Performance for the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), according to his LinkedIn profile. Asser Malik has a demonstrated history of working in the sports industry, especially cricket. 

Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by a Taliban gunman in her home in Pakistan when she was 15 years old in 2012. Malala and her family migrated to Birmingham after the attack, which she refers to as her "second home." She tells Lauren Laverne that when she awoke from a medically induced coma, she had no idea how long she'd be in the UK, and she even requested her father to send her physics revision from Pakistan because she had examinations coming up. She then said that they needed to learn and comprehend the accent, which they accomplished and now enjoy.

Malala Yousafzai also mentioned that Pakistan will always be her first home, and she hopes that she can go back to Pakistan to see her home again. She is admired around the world, particularly in Western countries, for her bravery and eloquence in pushing for girls' and women's rights. Her activity has polarized public opinion in Pakistan. At the age of 17, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, making her the prize's youngest winner. Kailash Satyarthi, a child rights activist and she split the prize. She earned a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics from Oxford University last year. "I wasn't having much fun before university, but when I connected to people my age and made friends my age, that is when I realized that 'okay, I am not that old, and I can still have those experiences of youth that I deserve and that everyone else is having," she says.

People on social media have dug out Malala Yousafzai’s interview with British Vogue, where she mentioned that she was not sure whether she would ever get married in her life or not. She told Vogue, "I still don't understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers? Why can’t it just be a partnership? My mum is like Don’t you dare say anything like that! Marriage is lovely.'"

Malala Yousafzai's parents, who refer to her marriage as an "arranged love marriage," suggested that watching her university friends settle down had gradually opened her eyes to the possibility.  "I just thought, 'I'm never going to get married, never going to have kids – I'm just going to do my work." She mentioned that "Until my second year of university, I'm going to be happy for the rest of my life and spend it with my family. I had no idea you weren't the same person all the time. You're changing and maturing as well".

Congratulations to the newly married couple!