Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala ties the knot in nikkah ceremony

Malala Yousafzai tweeted that it was "a precious day" in her life

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has "tied the knot" with her partner during an Islamic ceremony in Birmingham.

She and Asser Malik took part in a nikkah ceremony, where bride and groom consent to be married.

The 24-year-old activist said it was "a precious day" in her life.

The Pakistani women's rights activist found refuge in the West Midlands after being shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012.

"Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life," she tweeted on Tuesday, sharing how they had taken part in a "small nikkah ceremony with family".

"We are excited to walk together for the journey ahead," she added.

She posted several photos from the ceremony

On Wednesday afternoon, her new husband tweeted a picture of the couple and said in Malala he had found a "beautiful and kind partner" and he was "so excited to spend the rest of our life together".

Malala, now 24, was 15 when she was targeted by the Taliban in Pakistan for speaking up for the right of girls to be educated.

She survived the assault, in which a militant boarded her school bus in north-western Swat valley and opened fire, wounding two of her school friends as well as Malala.

After recovering from her near-fatal injuries, she and her family relocated to Birmingham, which she later called "a second home". Aged 17, she became the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. She went on to study at Oxford University, and has become a leading human rights campaigner.

Since graduating, Malala has called for better support for Afghan refugees, signed a contract with Apple TV+ to produce documentaries and appeared on the cover of British Vogue, all while continuing her work to improve girls' access to education.

• Latest news and updates from the West Midlands

Who is Asser Malik?

By Abdul Rasheed Shakoor, BBC Urdu

Asser Malik is closely associated with cricket and is the High Performance General Manager of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).

A graduate of Lahore's renowned Aitchison College and then Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), he was also associated with the Pakistan Super League franchise Multan Sultans before joining the PCB, for which he prepared the player development program.

While it is not clear how long the couple have known each other, there are pictures of them cheering on Pakistan at Birmingham's Edgbaston Cricket Ground posted on Mr Malik's Instagram account in June 2019.

The news of the ceremony was liked tens of thousands of times on social media

On its own, a nikkah is not legally recognised under English law and it is unclear whether the couple had a separate civil ceremony.

Malala has previously voiced her misgivings around marriage.

In an interview with Vogue in July, she said: "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 continued.

"My mum is like… 'Don't you dare say anything like that! You have to get married, marriage is beautiful'."

The news of the ceremony was liked tens of thousands of times by fans online, with thousands wishing the couple well.

Among those to offer their congratulations on Twitter were Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, Jemima Goldsmith and MP Sajid Javid.