• Nobel laureate meets relatives in Barkana, pays her respects at ancestral graveyard
• Says Malala Fund will ensure high standard of education at zero cost

SHANGLA: Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai paid a visit to her hometown of Barkana, on Wednesday, her first trip back since she was shot at by the Taliban in 2012.

During her hours-long stay, Ms Yousafzai met her relatives and went around to the girls’ school and college she set up in the area.

Malala shared her feelings about the visit in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “As a child, I spent every holiday in Shangla, Pakistan, playing by the river and sharing meals with my extended family. 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.”

Herself a victim of terrorism, she also reacted to Tuesday’s incident in Bannu, noting that the security situation was far from being satisfactory.

“I pray for peace in every corner of our beautiful country. The recent attacks, including in Bannu yesterday, are heartbreaking. I am sending my condolences to the victims and their families and offer my prayers for the safety of every person in my homeland,” her post read.

According to her relatives, Malala arrived in Barkana via helicopter along with her father Ziauddin Yousafzai and husband Aseer Malik.

They said she visited her home in Barkana, where she met her family members and relatives.

Around 1,000 girls from poor households in the Shangla district are receiving free education at the school and college under the Malala Fund.

Malala visited classes and spoke to students, urging them to focus on their studies. She asked them to make their future shine, adding that Malala Fund would ensure a high standard of education at the college free of cost to promote education.

Ms Yousafzai also visited her maternal family and spent quite some time with them before heading for her ancestral graveyard to offer prayers, especially for her maternal grandmother, who passed away three years ago.

Education activist Shahzad Roy, who runs the Shangla Girls School and College under the Zindagi Trust, briefed Ms Yousafzai about the facilities provided at the institution.

Local people also praised her efforts for the promotion of girls’ education in the area.

She later returned to Islamabad after spending about four hours in Barkana town.

Malala’s most recent visit to Pakistan was in January, when she spoke at a summit in Islam­abad on girls’ education in Muslim countries and emphasised that women living under the Taliban system were in a “gender apartheid”. She has been living in the United Kingdom since October 2012.

During her visit to Barkana, she also met her uncle Ramazan, who recently underwent surgery in Islamabad after suffering from heart problems.

Published in Dawn, March 6th, 2025