Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner and Oxford University alumnus, was recently awarded an honorary fellowship at Linacre College.
This follows the advent of the Oxford Pakistan Programme (OPP) to which Yousafzai contributed. Linacre’s principal, Nick Leimu-Brown, has been supporting this programme since it began in 2020 and has continued to be involved.
Linacre told Cherwell that the “strong relationship between Linacre College and the OPP was further strengthened by the awarding of an honorary fellowship to Malala”, recognising her consistent efforts in support of accessible education for women and those from less advantaged backgrounds.
The Programme has successfully provided scholarships for 5 students of Pakistani origin at Oxford University, as well as 6 work placements at the World Bank office in Pakistan. According to the co-founder of the Programme, Dr Talha Jamal Pirzada (Linacre), “the OPP has become a beacon of hope for thousands of Pakistani students aspiring to pursue higher education at top institutions worldwide”.
“As we celebrate Malala’s extraordinary achievements, let us recognise the transformative power of education in shaping lives, communities, and nations,” he continued. Dr Pirzada made an emphasis on young girls and women working in STEM subjects in his vision of a “prosperous and equitable future for generations to come”.
Yousafzai’s father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, was also present at the ceremony. He stated that the opportunity will allow his daughter to “further expand her work and collaborate with others to find solutions to the challenges in access to education for girls”. Malala’s ethos was reasserted; she “aspires to transform the lives of students and serve as a beacon of hope for students in Pakistan.”
