Malala Yousafzai returns to Swat after 13 years

SWAT: Swat valley, the land of lush green hills and roaring rivers on Thursday witnessed the return of its most celebrated daughter, Malala Yousafzai, after thirteen years.

The Nobel Laureate, who once walked these narrow, winding paths as a young girl dreaming of education for all, stepped back onto her homeland, this time as a global icon of resilience and hope.

According to media reports, Malala, accompanied by her parents, arrived in her ancestral village, Barkana Shahpur, via helicopter for a brief yet profoundly emotional visit.

In the embrace of her childhood home, she reunited with relatives, revisiting memories embedded in the walls of the house where she once lived.

She also visited Malala Yousafzai School, an institution built for orphaned girls—a testament to her unwavering commitment to education.

Speaking on the occasion, she painted a grim picture of the global education crisis saying that as many as 120 million girls worldwide remain out of school, including over 12 million in Pakistan.

She condemned Israel’s destruction of Gaza’s educational infrastructure, calling it an assault on an entire generation’s future.

“Palestinian children have lost not just their homes, but their dreams. In Gaza, 90 percent of universities have been destroyed,” she lamented. She urged the world to uphold international law and human rights.

Reflecting on the fundamental role of education in Islam, she reminded the audience of the first divine revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (SWA) “Iqra” Read.

She said that learning is the foundation of Muslims’ faith, adding it is a universal right of both men and women to seek knowledge, to empower themselves through education.

Malala Yousafzai’s return to Swat was not just a homecoming; it was a reaffirmation of her mission—a reminder that though the journey has taken her across the world, her heart remains rooted in the valleys where her dreams first took flight.