MALALA on MARRIAGE: ‘Why can’t it just be a partnership?’

Marriage appears to be even more complicated when the youngest Nobel laureate in the world says she doesn’t understand why people get hitched.

The 23-year-old, who is unsure of her next steps after graduating from Oxford, has recently opened up in an interview to a British magazine about love and family.

Malala told British Vogue that as though all her friends are finding partners, she’s not sure if that’s what she wants.

About romantic relationships, a nervous Malala said that “If you can trust someone or not, how can you be sure.”

Malala’s parents had an “arranged love marriage”, and would like her to get married one day, but she isn’t sure if she’ll ever marry herself.

“I still don’t understand why people have to get married. If you want to have a person in your life, why do you have to sign marriage papers, why can’t it just be a partnership?” she said.

Her views on the institution of marriage have met with a mixed reaction from people in her home country, with social media users reminding Malala of her Pashtoon origin and calling out for for 'promoting western culture'. Still, there were many others who defended her against the criticism.

Meanwhile, according to the British publication, her father occasionally receives emails from prospective suitors in Pakistan.

The 2014 Peace Prize winner will feature on the July 2021 issue of British Vogue – that is on newsstands on 4 June.