“I didn’t leave my country by choice, but I did return by choice”, Malala writes in her blog recounting the emotional journey she made back to Pakistan for the first visit since being shot in 2012 by Taliban militants.
Pakistani Nobel laureate, women rights and education activist Malala Yousufzai arrived in Pakistan on a four-day visit on March 28, in Islamabad. During her trip, she met Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa and also visited her hometown in Swat Valley.
Malala begins her blog reminiscing about the early morning of the fateful day she was shot. She writes, “When I left Swat Valley, Pakistan on 9th October 2012, my eyes were closed. I woke up a week later in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Birmingham, UK — but in my mind I was still at home”.
” I remembered that morning. I was in my bedroom, finishing revision of my Pakistan Studies paper and praying to Allah that I would do well on my exam. I remembered eating breakfast on the floor with my family, leaving my egg unfinished and rushing off to school. After school, my best friend Moniba and I were relieved our exam was over. We giggled as we watched our bus driver Usman Bhaijaan do magic tricks with a pebble. My memories end there. Seconds later, I was attacked”.
Malala also narrated the events leading to her standing in her home in Swat Valley once again on March 31.
“On March 31, 2018, I stood in my home again — and felt like the past was reversing itself. My family and I packed our bags and flew from UK to Dubai and then Dubai to Islamabad. We took a helicopter from Islamabad to Swat Valley. I saw the beauty of my home from a bird’s eye view — the never-ending mountain range, the greenery, the rivers. I could not stop myself from looking at everything.”
More than 500 of Malala and her family’s friends and relatives came to meet them during their whirlwind visit to their hometown.
Cherishing the memories, Malala said she hoped it will “not be another five and half years before I see their faces again.”
“Besides our home, we had not seen our friends and family for such a long time. More than 500 of our friends and relatives came to greet us with hugs and prayers. We took so many pictures and I love looking at them now that I’m back in UK. But my greatest hope is that it will not be another five and half years before I see their faces again,” she added.
The education activist also hoped that leaders and political leaders in the country make girls’ education their priority.
“In just a few years, Malala Fund has invested $6 million in our work for girls’ education in Pakistan, from opening the first secondary school for girls in Shangla to supporting Gulmakai Champions across the country. Malala Fund will continue our work — and I hope our leaders and political parties make girls’ education their priority as well, especially in the coming elections.”