Malala, the girl who was shot for going to school, graduates with honors from Oxford University

Malala Yousafzai, born in Pakistan, broke international headlines in 2012 when she was shot by the Taliban while on a bus returning home from school after writing an exam. At the age of 14, she had been a fervent advocate for girls' right to education for several years. However, her experience skyrocketed her activism to the global stage. Soon enough, she recovered from her wounds and began her journey to bring attention to the plight of girls across the world. Now, she has graduated from the highly prestigious Oxford University, The New York Times reports.

The trailblazer announced the news via Twitter, where she posted, "Hard to express my joy and gratitude right now as I completed my degree at Oxford. I don’t know what’s ahead. For now, it will be Netflix, reading, and sleep." She also uploaded two photos: one of her cutting a cake with her entire family and another of herself after a "trashing," which is when students celebrate the end of their exams by covering each other in confetti, foam, and food. She began her Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) course - because what else would the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner study? - at Oxford University in 2017.

The program is one of the university's most prestigious. At present, she is perhaps looking forward to finding a job. "Currently unemployed," one of her Instagram Stories read. Like many of her fellow graduates, she will be entering a professional world filled with immense uncertainty. However, there is no doubt that Yousafzai is more than prepared to tackle the challenges of a post-pandemic world. While at university, she was part of the cricket club, the Oxford Union (a debating society), and the Oxford Pakistan Society. She had, despite her extraordinary life, experiences that any other student would. She wrote in a 2018 Vogue article, "A few - well, many - times, I started an essay at 11 pm the night before it was due."

Nonetheless, her life and story made an impact on the world and the plane of girls' education. At the time of the shooting, Yousafzai was writing for a BBC blog about what life was like for her under Taliban rule in Pakistan's Swat Valley. At the time, Taliban militants had taken over the Swat Valley, banning television, music, and girls' education, among others. However, Malala, encouraged by her father who ran one of the few schools in that particular region (Mingora) where girls were still allowed to learn back then, continued her schooling. When she was shot, she was rushed to Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. Following the traumatic incident and her rise to international popularity, she established with her father the Malala Fund, a nonprofit organization advocating for girls’ right to education.

In 2014, she was jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian campaigner for children’s rights. "It seems like pressure, but it’s not pressure," she said when she received the award. "It’s strength and encouragement." Her story has since been a beacon of hope for thousands of other girls like her. She states on the official Malala Fund website, "I tell my story not because it is unique, but because it is the story of many girls." As girls continue to fight for their right to education across the world, Yousafzai remains a powerful role model for young activists everywhere.