Malala Yousafzai, Girls’ Education Advocate, Finishes High School

By DANIEL VICTOR 

It’s not unusual for teenagers to take a summer trip after graduating high school, but Malala Yousafzai is a bit different.

The 19-year-old Pakistani woman attended her last day of secondary school in Birmingham, England, on Friday, a milestone for the activist who has fought for girls’ education. She said on her new Twitter account that she would begin traveling next week to the Middle East, Africa and Latin America to meet with girls.

“I enjoyed my school years, and I am excited for my future,” she wrote in her blog. “But I can’t help thinking of millions of girls around the world who won’t complete their education.”

Ms. Yousafzai became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, having risen to international prominence as a voice against Islamist violence. She escaped to Britain in 2012 after being shot in the head by the Taliban when she was 15.

She founded the Malala Fund in 2013, an advocacy organization to ensure girls’ education worldwide. In April, she visited Lancaster, Pa., and Ottawa, Canada, as the first two stops on her world tour.

She plans to attend college but has not said where. In an interview with Teen Vogue in April, she said she was as nervous about college as any other recent graduate.

“It is quite a good moment because you live without your parents and you live in a college, and that’s the exciting part,” she said. “After that I’m not sure what I’m going to do in terms of career, but I’m really sure that I’m going to be focused on the Malala Fund and the work we do for girls’ education, so that’s going to be my mission.”