Malala Yousafzai, 2018

Malala Yousafzai (b. 1997) is a human rights activist for female education. Born in Mingora, Pakistan, she came to prominence in 2009 after writing about her life during the Taliban occupation of the Swat Valley and the ban on girls’ education. In October 2012, she was shot by a Taliban gunman on her school bus. She recovered in Birmingham, UK, where she remained with her family. In 2014 Malala became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize with Indian activist Kailash Satyarthi. She founded the Malala Fund in 2013, which is dedicated to giving all girls access to twelve years of free, safe, quality education.

Iranian-born artist and filmmaker Shirin Neshat (b. 1957) has used calligraphy to inscribe a poem by the Pashto poet Rahmat Shah Sayel onto the photograph. The 2011 poem addresses the legendary Pashtun heroine Malala of Maiwand and praises her namesake Malala Yousafzai, while making connections between the two formidable young women. The artist recalled: ‘I knew of Malala as an extraordinary young woman … when I look back on our encounter, I am left with impressions of humility, wisdom and a rare sense of inner beauty.’

National Portrait Gallery, London. Commissioned with support from Scott Collins and Lotta Ashdown, in partnership with Outset Contemporary Art Fund, 2018.
© National Portrait Gallery, London