Malala Yousafzai is celebrating her 26th birthday and the day is being recognised across the world as a tribute to her bravery and activism.

The Nobel-laureate took to social media to say that 10 years ago when she spoke at the United Nations, she had no idea about the places her life would take her to.

“16-year-old me had no idea what would happen next, the amazing people she would meet, the places she would go. She was just determined to continue her fight for girls’ education,” she wrote.

She also said that she had commited to spending the day with girls across the globe and the quest had taken her to Nigeria, Kenya, Brazil and Ethiopia, and to refugee camps in Lebanon, Rwanda and Iraq.

She said that the travel bans during the covid-19 pandemic had put a hold on the commitment but it was set to resume again this year.

Malala, a fierce campaigner for girls’ right to education became prominent through her writings in BBC Urdu. She was shot by Taliban in Swat in 2012.

Since 2013, her birthday has been celebrated as International Malala day in her honour. A year later she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

She has now graduated from OXford university and lives with her husband in Birmingham, England.