At the Oscars last night, Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai paid a modest homage to an Afghan Queen who fought for women's rights in her nation. The 25-year-old activist attended Hollywood’s one of the biggest Awards in support of her nominated documentary, Stranger At The Gate.
The human rights crusader caught everyone's attention as she walked the red carpet for the first time on the occasion wearing a silver sequin gown by Ralph Lauren Collection.
Malala also chose pieces of jewellery by Fred Leighton that belonged to Queen Soraya Tarzi of Afghanistan, such as a pair of diamond vintage earrings from the 1920s and a diamond ring from the 19th century.
Who Is The Afghan Queen Who Advocated For Women’s Rights?
The first women's journal in Afghanistan was started by Queen Soraya, who was a fervent supporter of women's rights and promoted gender equality.
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Queen Soraya tore off her face veil in front of the audience after her husband claimed in a speech that Islam did not need women to cover their bodies or wear veils.
She declared that the new freedom belonged "to all of us" in a 1926 speech commemorating the seventh anniversary of the end of British control and urged women to "play their role" in moving the nation forward.
After speaking to Soraya, women's rights advocate and Afghan politician Shinkai Karokhail told Arab News that the monarch 'began a magnificent revolution and succeeded to implement it through the king’.
As per reports, she has made public appearances and travelled extensively in order to make the women aware of their rights and their necessity to acquire education.
Malala Yousafzai
When the Pakistani Taliban sought out Malala, she was a young crusader for education. In 2012, they shot her in the face after stopping her school bus.
Two years after survival, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She is renowned for her support of human rights and initiatives in Pakistan for women's and children's education.
She urged the UK government to "come up more forcefully" in its support for Afghan women who are subject to the Taliban in November.
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The Pakistani activist accused world leaders of going 'quiet' as she addressed the Action for Afghanistan event opposite Downing Street, central London, on Sunday afternoon.
The demonstration was part of a campaign to raise attention to how Afghan women and children are being persecuted by the Taliban, who assumed control of the nation after Western soldiers left in 2021.
