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Ziauddin Yousafzai (; ; born 20 April 1969) is a Pakistani educational entrepreneur and activist best known as the father of Nobel laureate
Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai (; , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani female education activist, film and television producer, and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, ...
, who protested against the
Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan The Pakistani Taliban, officially the Tehreek-i-Taliban-e-Pakistan (TTP), is an umbrella organization of various Islamist armed militant groups operating along the Durand Line, Afghan–Pakistani border. Formed in 2007 by Baitullah Mehsud, i ...
opposition to the education rights of girls, especially for Pakistani girls. He is currently co-founder and board member of
Malala Fund Malala Fund is an international, non-profit organization that advocates for girls' education. It was co-founded by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and her father, Ziauddin. The ...
and the author of '' Let Her Fly'' (2018).


Biography


Early childhood

Yousafzai was born in 1969 to a
Pashtun Pashtuns (, , ; ;), also known as Pakhtuns, or Pathans, are an Iranic ethnic group primarily residing in southern and eastern Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. They were historically also referred to as Afghans until 1964 after the ...
family in Shangla. Ziauddin's father was the orator Rohul Amin Yousafzai, who was also a teacher of theology at a government high school and
imam Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
of the local mosque. As teacher he co-founded and ran a chain of low-cost private schools known as the Khushal Public School, named after a famous Pashtun poet,
Khushal Khan Khattak Khushal Khan Khattak (Pashto: خوشال خان خټک; ; 1613 – 20 February 1689), also known as Khushal Baba (), was a 17th-century Afghan Pashtun poet, chief, and warrior. Khushal Khan served the Mughal Empire protecting them from Pa ...
, as well as being a member of the Rotary Club of Swat and elected Vice President of the Swat Association of Private Schools. Politically, he was affiliated with the
Awami National Party The Awami National Party (ANP; , ; lit. ''People's National Party'') is a Pashtun nationalist, secular and leftist political party in Pakistan. The party was founded by Abdul Wali Khan in 1986 and its current president is Aimal Wali Khan, g ...
, a left-leaning Pashtun nationalist group.


Education

Ziauddin drew inspiration from his father, an educational activist. Even though he had a
stutter Stuttering, also known as stammering, is a speech disorder characterized externally by involuntary repetitions and prolongations of sounds, syllables, words, or phrases as well as involuntary silent pauses called blocks in which the person who ...
, he wanted to prove to his parents that he would be able to learn and speak correctly. Ziauddin Yousafzai attended Jahanzeb College located in Swat, Pakistan. During his time in college, he was made general secretary of the Pashtun Students Federation (PSF), a student wing of the Awami National Party (ANP) that wanted equal rights for Pashtuns. Yousafzai graduated from Jahanzeb College with a Master's in English.


Personal life

Yousafzai has a wife, named Toor Pekai, a daughter, Malala, and two sons, Khushal and Atal. His first child, born before Malala, was
stillborn Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can often result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. T ...
. Ziauddin has been seen on interviews with his daughter, being able to speak fluent English, Urdu, and Pashto.


Mission

When his daughter, Malala, was old enough to start understanding that at a certain age girls were prohibited to attend school, he inspired her to stand up and speak up. Instead of attending school, girls would have to stay home and learn how to cook for their brothers and fathers. When he created his low-cost private school business after college with his friend Naeem Khan, they would of course be open to teaching girls who would strive to keep learning and going to school. He supported every woman who wanted to become successful in life and not stay illiterate like many women in Pakistan.


Other activities

Ziauddin did a sit down interview with the current affairs program
The Agenda ''The Agenda with Steve Paikin'', or simply ''The Agenda'', is the flagship current affairs television program of TVOntario (TVO), Ontario's public broadcaster. Anchor Steve Paikin states that the show practices long-form journalism. Each hour-l ...
., Co-Founder o
Malala Fund
https://www.malala.org
He also gave a speech for
TED Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...
where he describes the reasons he encourages his daughter to speak up for women's rights. In his speech, he recalls never seeing his sisters' names written on paper growing up, and going to school while they all had to stay home. He attributes his activism to these facts.


Awards

On 11 June 2015, Yousafzai received an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
of law from
Wilfrid Laurier University Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a Public university, public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Ontario, Waterloo, Brantford, Ontario, Brantford and Milton, Ontario, Milton. The ...
in Waterloo, Canada for his commitment to peace, as well as his ongoing efforts for the educational rights of girls in Pakistan and beyond. In 2017, Yousafzai was awarded, along with his daughter, an honorary doctorate from the
University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...
.


Bibliography

Yousafzai wrote an autobiography titled '' Let Her Fly'' which was published in November 2018. In his book he describes his fight for the rights of all children to have an equal education, and speaks about opportunities and social and political recognition. The Bollywood actor
Atul Kulkarni Atul Kulkarni (born 10 September 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and screenwriter who works in Hindi, Marathi, Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil, English, Odia and Telugu language films. Kulkarni won the National Award for the Best Supporting Act ...
played Malala Yousafzai's father in the film ''
Gul Makai Gul Makai is a 2020 Indian biographical drama film directed by H.E. Amjad Khan, written by Bhaswati Chakrabarty, and produced by Techno Films. The film is based on the life of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist for female education and th ...
''.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yousafzai, Ziauddin 1969 births Living people Malala Yousafzai Pakistani diplomats Pakistani educational theorists Pakistani refugees Pakistani Sunni Muslims Pashtun activists People from Swat District People of the insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Place of birth missing (living people) Awami National Party politicians Pakistani expatriates in the United Kingdom Founders of Pakistani schools and colleges