Oxford alumni give advice to Malala

By Lauren Codling

ALUMNI from Oxford University have come forward to give advice to British-Pakistani Malala Yousafzai as she revealed she has been accepted to study at the renowned institution in the upcoming academic year.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner is expected to study philosophy, politics and economics (PPE), a subject which has a reputation for being a beloved course among aspiring politicians and journalists.

Last week, Malala, 20, tweeted her joy on her social media platform, saying she was “so excited” to attend the school before extending her congratulations to other students collecting their A-level results.

Monica Ali, the acclaimed author of Brick Lane, told Eastern Eye on Monday (21) she looks upon her days at the university with “great fondness”.

Having studied the same degree as Malala, Ali said she can expect “three

years of permanent ‘essay crisis’.”

“Writing an average of two essays per week means you’re always up against a tight deadline, reading and taking notes late into the night. Although Malala will probably be a lot more organised than I was!” she joked.

Christina Lamb, the chief foreign correspondent of the Sunday Times and who is the coauthor of I Am Malala, told Eastern Eye that PPE is often seen as “the degree of choice” for politicians, as so many prime ministers and MPs have graduated with the qualification.

Former Pakistani prime ministers Benazir Bhutto and Liaqat Ali Khan did the course at Oxford, as did cricketer-turned-politician Imran Khan.

Malala has previously spoken of following in the footsteps of Bhutto.

Lamb, who herself studied chemistry at the university before switching to PPE, said Malala

will be studying alongside “very stimulating students” and said Malala should enjoy herself.

She added: “Oxford has some incredible resources and professors and wonderful libraries. My advice to Malala would be to make the most of these and go to more lectures than I did!”

Rajeeb Dey, entrepreneur and CEO of human resourcing consultants Learnerbly, has said it is a “real privilege” to study at Oxford and “Malala [will] no doubt thrive and given her strength as a public speaker and campaigner the Oxford Union – arguably the world’s most famous debating society – will provide a great platform for her to continue this work.”

Afua Hirsch, the acclaimed barrister and author, said the biggest challenges she faced studying PPE was “probably the sense of entitlement, privilege, and arrogance among some of my fellow students”.

The 36-year old’s journalist’s advice to Malala would be to not “fall for their posturing” and to not let it “intimidate you”.

“Find your people – they exist, you might have to look a little harder for them at Oxford than in other places!” she added.

“But don’t be fooled – PPE is what you make it, and there is plenty of scope for passionate study and serious academic immersion. Like with all things, the more you put in, the more you get out.”