‘I left Swat with my eyes closed and now return with my eyes open,’ says Malala Yousafzai

Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai, visited her hometown in Swat on Saturday, for the first time following the attack on her by Taliban gunmen.

“I left Swat with my eyes closed and now return with my eyes open,” she told AFP. “I am extremely delighted. My dream has come true. Peace has returned to Swat because of the invaluable sacrifices rendered by my brothers and sisters,” Malala said at a school outside Mingora.

On Saturday, Yousafzai flew by helicopter, to visit her childhood home in Swat amidst heavy security, accompanied by her father, mother, and two brothers.

“I miss everything about Pakistan … right from the rivers, the mountains, to even the dirty streets and the garbage around our house, and my friends and how we used to have gossip and talk about our school life, to how we used to fight with our neighbours.”

Malala commented further that she has wanted to return ever since before, but aside from security concerns, she had to follow through her hectic schedule at school and her entrance exams for Oxford, where she began studying last year for a degree in politics, philosophy, and economics. After taking an army helicopter from Islamabad, Malala met friends and family before paying a visit to the all-boys Swat Cadet College in Guli Bagh, some 15 kilometres outside Mingora.

Malala had said earlier that she would address the students there, however, she stayed only a few minutes to take photographs before making her way to return back to Islamabad. Malala was kept out of range of local media on Friday, making it difficult for people to learn about her activities on the day.

Malala, the youngest Nobel Laureate returned to Pakistan on Thursday for the first time since Taliban militants shot her in the head almost six years ago for her efforts to promote girls’ education in Pakistan. She was flown to Britain in 2012 to receive medical care and then went on to impress the world with her eloquence on rights issues. She won the Nobel Peace Prize peace prize in 2014, sharing the laurel with child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.