Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai announced on Tuesday she had married Asser Malik, a manager with Pakistan’s cricket governing body, at a small ceremony in Birmingham.
The 24-year-old human rights activist and educationist wrote: “Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. We celebrated a small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham with our families. Please send us your prayers. We are excited to walk together for the journey ahead.”
Ms Yousafzai’s husband is a high-performance general manager at the Pakistan’s cricket governing body, the Pakistan Cricket Board, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He joined the board in May 2020 and worked with the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Multan Sultans previously as an operational manager.
He also owns an amateur league franchise called Last Man Stands in Pakistan, an endeavour he described on LinkedIn as an attempt to revive grassroots cricket in an organised and structured manner.
He has served as managing director at a player management firm.
Mr Malik graduated from the Lahore University of Management Sciences in political science and economics in 2012.
It is not clear how long the couple have known each other, but his Instagram profile includes a group photograph with Ms Yousafzai from 2019.
The selfie shows them cheering for Pakistan at the Edgaston Stadium in Birmingham.
The wedding comes almost ten years after she was shot by the Taliban on her way back home from school in Pakistan’s SWAT Valley in 2012. Malala at the time was only 14 years old and championed education for Pakistani girls and women.
She traveled to Birmingham for treatment, where she was later joined by her family. She has continued to be a champion of human rights and girls’ education alongside her studies.
