Malala To Be Reunited With Friends From Attack

The Pakistani schoolgirl who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban will be reunited today with two friends injured in the same attack.

Malala Yousafzai, 16, was travelling on a school bus in October last year through Pakistan’s Swat Valley when she was shot in the head by Taliban fighters.

The extremist group was unhappy with her views on education and women’s rights.

She has since become a global icon and narrowly missed out on winning the Nobel Peace Prize earlier this month.

Malala will be joined by school friends Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan – who were also on the bus – when she speaks at Edinburgh University later today.

The 16-year-old is due to address the first public meeting of the Global Citizenship Commission, a body of leaders representing politics, religious institutions, law and philanthropy.

Her friends, Kainat and Shazia, are now studying in the UK and are in Edinburgh to promote their campaign for education in Pakistan.

Malala is guest of honour at the meeting which is a joint initiative between former prime minister Gordon Brown, New York University and Carnegie UK Trust.

Speaking ahead of the meeting, Mr Brown, UN envoy for global education and MP for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath, praised all three of the girls for their work.

“We all know of Malala’s incredible courage, strength and determination, and I’m so pleased that she will be reunited with Shazia and Kainat, two young women equally determined that every girl and boy should enjoy the most basic of human rights: a secure, safe place at school,” he said.

The trio will later accompany Mr Brown at a topping-out ceremony for a new primary school in Burntisland, Fife.

Malala met the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh on Friday during her visit to Buckingham Palace.

The teenager got a fit of the giggles after the Duke joked about why parents really sent their children to school.

“He said parents are tired of children, and that’s why they send them to school, and I laughed,” she said.

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Malala To Be Reunited With Friends From Attack