The youngest Nobel Prize laureate, girls’ education activist, author, and an Oxford graduate Malala Yousafzai takes the cover of British Vogue Magazine‘s June 2021 edition lensed by fashion photographer Nick Knight. In charge of styling was Kate Phelan, who for the cover selected viscose and lace shirt and headscarf by Stella McCartney, and Alice Cicolini rings. Beauty is work of hair stylist Sam McKnight, makeup artist Val Garland, and manicurist Adam Slee.
It’s a cultural symbol for us Pashtuns, so it represents where I come from. And Muslim girls or Pashtun girls or Pakistani girls, when we follow our traditional dress, we’re considered to be oppressed, or voiceless, or living under patriarchy. I want to tell everyone that you can have your own voice within your culture, and you can have equality in your culture. – Malala on wearing headscarf.
Malala has generated so much glowing praise over the last few years, but here’s the thing: it’s all true. She’s truly extraordinary. Barack and I first met Malala when she visited the White House in 2013, and right away, it was clear she belonged in a room with the President of the United States. Her poise, her wisdom and her earnest belief in the power of every girl – it all couldn’t have been clearer from that very first meeting. – Michelle Obama
Photography © Nick Knight for British Vogue, for more of the story visit Vogue UK’s official site: vogue.co.uk
