Malala turns her fight for equality to women in sports

WNN Exclusive: Malala Yousafzai on why she’s investing in women’s sports WNN — Malala Yousafzai is known by millions around the world as an activist and human rights campaigner, a voice of power and inspiration who survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban at age 15. Perhaps less well known is her life as a sports fanatic. But take any major women’s sports event from the past few years and you can bet on Yousafzai being in the stands, whether that’s cricket, soccer, basketball, netball or the Olympic and Commonwealth Games. She even chose to spend a freezing Valentine’s Day evening with her husband, Asser Malik, watching American rugby star Ilona Maher turn out for English club side Bristol Bears.

Now, Yousafzai – mononamously referred to as Malala

Now, Yousafzai – mononamously referred to as Malala – is turning her fandom into a platform to invest in women’s sports around the world, both on a professional and amateur level.

Recess is her latest initiative intended to enhance the rights of women

Recess is her latest initiative intended to enhance the rights of women and girls through sports, a concept which you could say has been in the pipeline since Yousafzai’s childhood in Pakistan. “I remember in school recess time when boys would go off to the local cricket playground and girls had to stay behind,” she said in an exclusive interview with CNN Sports. “From that point onwards, I knew that sports was something that girls did not have easy access to.” And in today’s global climate, a time of conflict and heightened political tension, Yousafzai believes that sports play a more crucial role than ever before.

“I think about young people and how their lives are at risk,

“I think about young people and how their lives are at risk, how children are killed, they’re starved, and girls’ rights are taken away in Afghanistan,” she said. “Just looking at the tensions around the world, we can only hope and pray for peace and encourage everybody to put down their weapons and think about the hope for humanity.

“We are capable of dialogue, we are capable of coming together, and sports, in history, in the current times, have proven to be that powerful way of bringing communities together. … We could be competitive, but at the same time, when the game is over, we can hug each other, shake hands, and recognize that we’re all one humanity.”

A longtime and committed campaigner for women’s education, Yousafzai became an internationally recognized figure after she was shot in the head by the Taliban while riding a bus home from school.

Airlifted to a hospital in Birmingham, England, for lifesaving treatment, she had months of surgeries and rehabilitation before recovering and making the UK her new home with her family.

Undeterred by the experience, Yousafzai founded the Malala Fund in 2013 to champion educational rights for girls, and the following year became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17.