How Malala Yousufzai found out she had won the Nobel Peace Prize

Malala won in 2014 for her struggle against oppression of children and right of all children to receive an education

Malala Yousufzai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 for her struggle against oppression of children and the right of all children to receive an education.

In a recent speech at Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual conference, the youngest Nobel laureate revealed the day she learnt she won the prize was 'scary'. The deputy headteacher of her school in Birmingham asked Malala to step outside, which led her to believe she was in trouble.

Giving the speech she said: "Suddenly, our deputy headteacher appears in the classroom and I’m just quite shocked, because why would she call me? I thought I was in trouble or something. She called me outside and I went and she said: ‘You have won the Nobel peace prize.’ So it was a big surprise, and I said: ‘Thank you.’”



Malala, who was a vocal advocate of women’s right to education in her hometown of Swat, was injured after a Taliban gunman attempted to assassinate her in 2012.

Today, the 19-year-old continues her struggle and activism for women’s rights and has become a symbol for women empowerment in Pakistan. She is also one of Pakistan’s only two Nobel Prize laureates and the youngest-ever person to be awarded a Nobel Prize.

This story originally appeared in WION.