Malala Yousafzai Patricia Schlein/Star Max/GC Images
Malala Yousafzai has attended her first ‘proper’ concert in spectacular style.
The education activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient, 27, went along to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour at London’s Wembley Stadium over the weekend, sharing photos from the event via social media on Saturday, August 17.
The Pakistani star attended the concert with her husband, Asser Malik, and several friends.
“It feels magical that my first-ever proper concert would be to see @TaylorSwift, singing along to every song surrounded by friends,” Yousafzai captioned her Instagram post.
The post featured several photos from the event including one of her posing in pink heart-shaped sunglasses with Malik, another of three arms dressed with 34-year-old Swift’s trademark friendship bracelets, another of Yousafzai with two friends including Sarah Jehaan Khan and a final shot of Yousafzai raising her hands in the air to direct a heart towards the stage.
The I Am Malala author also explained how much the event, and simply seeing Swift in concert, meant to her, detailing memories from her upbringing in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Yousafzai included throwback photos from her childhood to illustrate her explanation further.
“One of my favorite memories from Swat Valley is a field trip I took in middle school with my best friend, Moniba (second photo, on the left). Giggling, we went to a waterfall hidden away in a lush green mountain,” she wrote. “We were so excited because we were finally allowed to go to school again and could be outdoors with our friends, laughing and singing together.
Her post continued, “Having lived through a time where music and art were banned, music felt like a gift. Moniba and I found the highest rock we could, climbed on top of it and announced to all of our classmates and teachers we were going to perform our new favorite song called LOVE STORY. We sang with all of our heart, taking in the joy we felt every second. That’s where my Swiftie journey began.”
The devoted fan concluded her post by sharing a message of hope that referenced Swift. “One day I hope we will live in a world where every girl will be able to enjoy music and live out her wildest dreams,” Yousafzai wrote.
Yousafzai has spoken before of her admiration for women in the entertainment industry, telling Us Weekly in March 2023 that she is inspired by the achievements of others. “I am really thanking all the women directors, producers, actresses, as well, for the work that they have done,” Yousafzai told Us at the 95th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles on March 12. “We all know that this was not an easy journey for them, and there are still so many challenges that they have to come across.
Yousafzai served as an executive producer on the movie Stranger at the Gate, which was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the awards ceremony.
Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner in history at the age of 17 in October 2014.
She began making waves in 2009 when she detailed what life was like in Pakistan under Taliban occupation in a first-person account published by the BBC. Though she wrote the piece under a pseudonym, she was publicly identified by her father in December 2009.
She was also the subject of a New York Times documentary that year, which further shined a light on her work to improve girls’ education in her home country.
