You can have voice within your culture: Malala Yousafzai

NOBEL Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said it is possible to have a voice and equality within one’s culture which may seem orthodox and patriarchal.

In an interview, the activist, who appears on the cover page of British Vogue magazine’s July edition, said the headscarf she wears is her cultural symbol that shows her identity.

“It's a cultural symbol for us Pashtuns, so it represents where I come from,” the Oxford graduate said.

Malala, 23, said she enjoyed her time at Oxford University where could spend time with people of her own age long after she was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in her home country when she was 15.

Till then, she admitted she had never really been in such company after the attack on her as she spent time recovering from injuries and then travelling around the world.

She recalled how she visited restaurants and played poker with friends while studying at the university where she “finally got time for myself” and enjoyed “every moment” that she had not seen before.

“I was excited about literally anything. Going to McDonald's or playing poker with my friends or going to a talk or an event”, Yousafzai said.

She also said she felt awkward during her school days in Birmingham when people asked her about her meeting famous people such as US president Barack Obama, as she felt those matters should be left outside the school building.

Malala completed her degree last year.