Nobel Prize Winner Malala Yousafzai Announces Marriage On Twitter

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who was shot in 2012 by the Pakistani Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, has "tied the knot" with her partner, Asser Malik, in an Islamic ceremony in Britain.

"Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life," she wrote on Twitter on November 9. The tweet was accompanied by images of herself and her new husband and both of them with her parents.

"We celebrated a small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham (England) with our families. Please send us your prayers. We are excited to walk together for the journey ahead," Yousafzai added, referring to the Islamic ceremony in which bride and groom consent to be married.

The tweet was liked more than 163,000 times within seven hours of her posting it.

Malik is a business manager currently working at the Pakistan Cricket Board, according to his Twitter profile. He posted a photo of himself and Yousafzai on July 12 calling her "the most amazing Malala" and wishing her a happy 24th birthday.

The wedding photos were taken outdoors among fall foliage and show Yousafzai in a soft pink, jewel-encrusted Islamic bridal dress and hijab, while Malik is dressed in a classic black suit with a satin pink tie.

The Pakistani human rights campaigner was shot in the head by militants from the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in her hometown while on a school bus in 2012. She was targeted by the TTP for her relentless objections to its interpretation of Islam that limits girls' access to education. She was just 15 at the time.

She recovered after months of treatment at home and abroad, including in Birmingham, and co-wrote a best-selling memoir titled I Am Malala.

Yousafzai was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, sharing the award with Kailash Satyarthi, a children's rights activist from India.

She graduated last year from the University of Oxford in England with a degree in philosophy, politics, and economics and continues advocating for girls' education and runs a nonprofit called Malala Fund, which has invested $1.9 million in Afghanistan since 2017, according to the fund's website.

She has also signed a deal with Apple TV+ that will see her produce dramas and documentaries that focus on women and children.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, AFP, BBC, and USA Today