“As we crossed the Malakand Pass I saw a young girl selling oranges. She was scratching marks on a scrap of paper with a nail to account for the oranges she had sold as she could not read or write. I took a photo of her and vowed I would do everything in my power to help educate girls just like her. This was the war I was going to fight.”

Pakistani education activist and producer

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani education activist and producer of film and television, known for advocating for the rights of women and children to attend school. Born in the Swat district, she became an international figure for her campaign against restrictions on girls’ education. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, winning the Peace Prize in 2014 at age 17. She is also the second Pakistani and the only Pashtun to receive a Nobel Prize. Her work has grown into a wider movement, and she has been described as Pakistan’s most prominent citizen.