Malala Yousafzai: Nobel laureate marries in small UK ceremony

Activist says her and husband Asser Malik are ‘excited for journey ahead’

Malala with her new husband, Asser, and her parents (Twitter)

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate and campaigner for girls’ education Malala Yousafzai announced she has married during a small family ceremony.

The activist said herself and new husband Asser Malik had celebrated at home with family following a small wedding ceremony in Birmingham on Tuesday.

Ms Yousafzai, who survived being shot aged 15 by a Taliban gunman in her native Pakistan in 2012, lives in Britain and said she and her new husband are “excited for the journey ahead”.

“Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life,” the 24-year-old posted on Twitter.

She added: “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 became the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner in 2014, winning the accolade for her work campaigning for girls to have a universal right to education.

She completed a philosophy, politics and economics degree at Oxford University last year.

The activist has also set up the Malala Fund, which aims to support the education of girls around the world.

As recently as July this year, she had told British Vogue magazine that she was not sure if she would ever marry.

"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 was quoted as saying in a lengthy profile.

Additional reporting by the Reuters news agency.