Soon, Swat became known across Pakistan for the number of professionals it was producing - especially doctors and teachers. As Adnan Aurangzeb says, "Swat was proud of its record on education… one way to identify a Swati outside of Swat was that he always had a pen in his chest pocket, and that meant he was literate.

Against this backdrop, the fate that befell the schools of Swat in the first years of the 21st Century is particularly tragic. By the time Malala was born, her father had realised his dream of founding his own school, which began with just a few pupils and mushroomed into an establishment educating more than 1, girls and boys.

It is clear that her absence is keenly felt. Outside the door of her old classroom is a framed newspaper cutting about her. Inside, her best friend Moniba has written the name "Malala" on a chair placed in the front row. This was Malala's world - not one of wealth or privilege but an atmosphere dominated by learning.

And she flourished. In that, she wasn't alone. And from the moment I walk in, I understand what she means. Their focus and attention is absolute, their aspirations sky-high.

The lesson under way is biology, and as it ends I have a few moments to ask the girls about their future plans - many want to be doctors. One girl's answer stops me in my tracks: "I'd like to be Pakistan's army chief one day.

Part of the reason for this drive to succeed is that only white-collar, professional jobs will allow these girls a life outside their homes. While poorly educated boys can hope to find low-skilled work, their female counterparts will find their earning power restricted to what they can do within the four walls of their home - sewing perhaps.

But for me it was hard and for that reason I wanted to become educated and empower myself with knowledge. Like other parts of north-west Pakistan, Swat had always been a devout and conservative region, but what was happening by was very different - radio broadcasts threatening Sharia-style punishments for those who departed from local Muslim traditions, and most ominously, edicts against education. The worst period came at the end of , when the local Taliban leader, Mullah Fazlullah, issued a dire warning - all female education had to cease within a month, or schools would suffer consequences.

Malala remembers the moment well: "'How can they stop us going to school? But Ziauddin Yousafzai and his friend Ahmad Shah, who ran another school nearby, had to recognise it as a real possibility. The Taliban had always followed through on their threats. The two men discussed the situation with local army commanders. By this time, Malala was still only 11, but well aware of how things were changing. She knew that her way of life was under threat. When a journalist from BBC Urdu asked her father about young people who might be willing to give their perspective on life under the Taliban, he suggested Malala.

The result was the Diary of a Pakistani Schoolgirl , a blog for BBC Urdu, in which Malala chronicled her hope to keep going to school and her fears for the future of Swat. I didn't want to see my life in that way. The blog was anonymous, but Malala was also unafraid to speak out in public about the right to education, as she did in February to the Pakistani television presenter Hamid Mir, who brought his show to Swat. At that time it was Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala's father, who was perceived to be at the greatest risk.

Already known as a social and educational activist, he had sensed that the Taliban would move from the tribal areas of Pakistan into Swat, and had often warned people to be on their guard. Malala herself was concerned for him. We'll hide my father in a cupboard and call the police.

No-one thought the Taliban would target a child. There were however notorious incidents where they had chosen to make an example of women. In early , a dancer was accused of immorality and executed, her body put on public display in the centre of Mingora. Soon afterwards, there was outrage across Pakistan after a video emerged from Swat showing the Taliban flogging a year-old girl for alleged "illicit relations" with a man.

Ziauddin Yousafzai must have known that Malala's high profile in the valley put her at some risk, even though he could not have foreseen the outcome.

By the time Malala was shot in , the worst days of Taliban power in Swat had receded. A high-profile military operation had cleared out most militants but others had stayed behind, keeping a low profile.

On the afternoon of 9 October, she walked out of school as normal and boarded a small bus waiting outside the gates. These vehicles are seen everywhere in Mingora - a little like covered pickup trucks, open at the back, with three lines of benches running the length of the flatbed.

Each could carry about 20 people and would be waiting to take the girls and their teachers home at the end of the school day. In Malala's case, it was only a short journey, past a small clearing where children played cricket, and along the canal bank to her house. Once she had walked, but then her mother, Tor Pekai, intervened. That day, she was in the middle of her exams, and had a lot on her mind.

But there was still the usual after-school chat and gossip to share with Moniba, who was sitting next to her. But as the bus progressed along its route Malala says she did notice something unusual - the road seemed deserted. Can you see it's not like it usually is? Moments later, the bus was flagged down by two young men as it passed a clearing, only yards from the school gates.

Malala doesn't recall seeing them but Moniba does. To her they looked like college students. Then she heard one ask: "Who is Malala? But she quickly grasped that Malala had sensed danger. The girls looked at Malala, thereby innocently identifying her. Moniba says the bus remained there for 10 minutes, before anyone came to the aid of the panic-stricken women and children. When they reached hospital, it was assumed all four girls were wounded, because Moniba's clothing was drenched in her friend's blood.

News of the shooting spread quickly. Malala's father was at the Press Club when a phone call came to tell him one of his school buses had been attacked. He feared at once that it was Malala who had been targeted. He found her on a stretcher in the hospital. I am proud of you. Malala had been shot in the head and it was clear to everyone, including the Pakistan army, that her life was in danger. A helicopter was scrambled to airlift her to the military hospital in Peshawar - a journey that would eventually take her not just away from Swat but away from Pakistan.

The Combined Military Hospital in Peshawar is the best medical facility in the region, treating not just military personnel but their families too. As he flew in with Malala, Ziauddin Yousafzai was braced for the worst, telling relatives at his family home in rural Swat to make preparations for a funeral.

On October 9, , a gunman shot Yousafzai when she was traveling home from school. She survived and has continued to speak out on the importance of education. For the first few years of her life, Yousafzai's hometown remained a popular tourist spot that was known for its summer festivals. The area began to change as the Taliban tried to take control.

Yousafzai attended a school that her father, educator Ziauddin Yousafzai, had founded. After the Taliban began attacking girls' schools in Swat, Yousafzai gave a speech in Peshawar, Pakistan, in September The title of her talk was, "How dare the Taliban take away my basic right to education? In early , when she was just 11 years old, Yousafzai began blogging for the BBC about living under the Taliban's threats to deny her an education.

In order to hide her identity, she used the name Gul Makai. However, she was revealed to be the BBC blogger in December of that year. With a growing public platform, Yousafzai continued to speak out about her right, and the right of all women, to an education.

Her activism resulted in a nomination for the International Children's Peace Prize in Yousafzai and her family learned that the Taliban had issued a death threat against her because of her activism. Though Yousafzai was frightened for the safety of her father — an anti-Taliban activist — she and her family initially felt that the fundamentalist group would not actually harm a child.

On October 9, , when year-old Yousafzai was riding a bus with friends on their way home from school, a masked gunman boarded the bus and demanded to know which girl was Yousafzai. When her friends looked toward Yousafzai, her location was given away. The gunman fired at her, hitting Malala in the left side of her head; the bullet then traveled down her neck.

Two other girls were also injured in the attack. The shooting left Yousafzai in critical condition, so she was flown to a military hospital in Peshawar. A portion of her skull was removed to treat her swelling brain. To receive further care, she was transferred to Birmingham, England. Once she was in the United Kingdom, Yousafzai was taken out of a medically induced coma.

Though she would require multiple surgeries—including repair of a facial nerve to fix the paralyzed left side of her face — she had suffered no major brain damage. In March , she was able to begin attending school in Birmingham.

The shooting resulted in a massive outpouring of support for Yousafzai, which continued during her recovery. Unfortunately, the Taliban still considers Yousafzai a target, although Yousafzai remains a staunch advocate for the power of education. Nine months after being shot by the Taliban, Yousafzai gave a speech at the United Nations on her 16th birthday in Yousafzai highlighted her focus on education and women's rights, urging world leaders to change their policies.

I determined to continue my fight until every girl could go to school. With my father, who has always been my ally and inspiration, I established Malala Fund, a charity dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to achieve a future she chooses. In recognition of our work, I received the Nobel Peace Prize in December and became the youngest-ever Nobel laureate. I travel to many countries to meet girls fighting poverty, wars, child marriage and gender discrimination to go to school.

Malala Fund is working so that their stories, like mine, can be heard around the world. And we hold leaders accountable for their promises to girls.

I will always treasure my time at Lady Margaret Hall — the lectures, club meetings, balls and late nights some spent finishing papers, some just chatting with friends in the dorm.

Although a global pandemic meant I spent my final months as a university student in my parents' house, I'm grateful that I was able to complete my education. After taking time to relax, I am more dedicated than ever to my fight for girls.