Making the world better is what it’s all about for Malala Yousafzai.
The 23-year-old activist is on the new cover of British Vogue, and in the issue she opens up about her work, politics and more.
Talking about loosening her headscarf, Yousafzai says, “At home, it’s fine. If I’m with friends, it’s fine.”
The headscarf is more than just a symbol of Muslim faith, though, as she explains, “It’s a cultural symbol for us Pashtuns, so it represents where I come from. And Muslim girls or Pashtun girls or Pakistani girls, when we follow our traditional dress, we’re considered to be oppressed, or voiceless, or living under patriarchy. I want to tell everyone that you can have your own voice within your culture, and you can have equality in your culture.”
Talking about modern activism, Yousafzai is somewhat skeptical of social media’s influence, saying, “Right now, we have associated activism with tweets. That needs to change, because Twitter is a completely different world.”
She also shares what it was like attending a high school in Alabama.
“People would ask me things like, ‘What was it like when you met Emma Watson, or Angelina Jolie or Obama?’” she recalls. “And I wouldn’t know what to say. It’s awkward, because you want to leave that ‘Malala’ outside the school building, you want to just be a student and a friend.”
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On going to university, she says, “I was excited about literally anything. Going to McDonald’s [a sweet chilli chicken wrap and a caramel frappe is her go-to order] or playing poker with my friends or going to a talk or an event. I was enjoying each and every moment because I had not seen that much before. I had never really been in the company of people my own age because I was recovering from the incident [the Taliban’s attempt on her life], and travelling around the world, publishing a book and doing a documentary, and so many things were happening. At university I finally got some time for myself.”
As for her future, Yousafzai admits she has thought about jumping into politics, but she isn’t ready just yet.
“I do think before entering politics you should know what exactly you are there for, who you want to work with,” she says. “You know, all of the political parties that are there in Pakistan don’t have a clean history. Do you defend them, do you not defend them? Do you change the political party? Do you form your own political party? Imran Khan did that, and it took him over 30 years.”
