Social activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai took Twitter by surprise when she revealed on Tuesday that she had tied the knot in a “small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham.”

The 24-years-old posted pictures from the occasion on Twitter and said that it was “a precious day” in her life.

Malala is a human rights campaigner from Swat Valley who was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for speaking up against their restrictions on girls’ rights to have an education. Immediately after the incident, Malala moved to Birmingham for medical treatment where her family later joined her.

“Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. 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,” she wrote.

Malala’s husband Asser Malik is the General Manager High Performance for the Pakistan Cricket Board. According to his LinkedIn profile, Malik has also served as a managing director of a player-management agency and franchise owner in the amateur league Last Man Stand.

While many people on Twitter wished the couple and their families a happy life, others questioned Malala about the change in her stance regarding marriage.

In an interview with Vogue earlier this year, Malala spoke about valuing partnership over marriage. “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 said.