A portrait of Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Oxford alumna Malala Yousafzai was revealed last week at Lady Margaret Hall. Yousafzai, a former college member, graduated from Oxford with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE) in 2020.
The artwork was commissioned by Lady Margaret Hall in collaboration with the Oxford Pakistan Programme, on whose advisory body Yousafzai sits.
The portrait was revealed at Lady Margaret Hall’s annual Founders and Benefactors Dinner early this month. In the Lady Margaret Hall news update, Yousafzai said: “I am incredibly grateful to Lady Margaret Hall for commissioning this portrait and for the trust it represents. I accept this honour with the hope that it helps open doors for many others.”
Yousafzai also hoped that the portrait would serve as an encouragement for other women: “More than anything, I hope it serves as a reminder that a girl from Swat Valley belongs here – and that the next girl from a village in Pakistan, Afghanistan, or anywhere else, belongs here too.”
In a news update on the Lady Margaret Hall website, the painter, Isabella Watling, expressing gratitude for the opportunity: “It was a huge honour to paint Malala’s portrait.In the picture, I wanted to try and capture some of her strength and grace. I found it was unusually challenging to finish, because of the pressure of painting such a well-known face.”
Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist who has championed the right to girls’ education, remains the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate in history. She grew up in Swat Valley, Pakistan, and survived a 2012 assassination attempt by the Taliban after criticising the militant organisation’s restrictions on women’s educational opportunities.
Alongside her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala Yousafzai has headed the non-profit organisation Malala Fund since 2013. The organisation “invests in civil society organizations who are challenging the systems, policies and practices that prevent girls from going to school in their communities”.
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