Malala Yousafzai’s marriage to Pakistani Asser Malik sparks debate among South Asian feminists
- Shot by a Taliban gunman at age 15, the Pakistani Nobel laureate recovered, went to Oxford and continues to lobby for women’s education
- While feminists wonder if marriage at age 24 will derail her fight against girls’ oppression, Malala says she believes she can enjoy equality in marriage
Malala, 24, wed fellow Pakistani Asser Malik in her home in Birmingham on Tuesday. She moved to Britain after she was shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 for campaigning for girls’ education. She later recovered and graduated from Oxford University last year.
Malala’s marriage announcement, accompanied by photos of her in a pink dress, sparked well-wishes but also concerns about how the institution would shape the future of a young South Asian woman from a traditionally conservative background who has bucked the trend by being an advocate for girls’ education.
The 59-year-old author in a tweet, pointed to Malala’s age and educational achievements, saying she thought the activist would “fall in love with a handsome progressive English man at Oxford and then think of marrying not before the age of 30.”
