Dream Come True: Activist Malala Yousafzai’s First Taylor Swift Show Was a Lifetime In the Making
Anyone’s first concert can be a transformative experience. If that first concert is a stop on Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, the emotional stakes are often through the roof. Usually, a first-time Eras Tour attendee is a tween or teenage fan accompanied by a parent chaperon. But when Swift played London’s Wembley Stadium this Saturday, there was one fan in the crowd who’d truly brought a lifetime of expectations to the show. Nobel Peace Prize winner and girls’ education activist Malala Yousafzai had grown up loving Swift’s music, and for her, witnessing the Taylor magic live was a moment of profound personal significance.
Born in Mingora, Pakistan, in 1997, Yousafzai was a student when the Taliban took control of her hometown in the country’s Swat Valley. The extremists banned education for girls and playing music, among other harsh measures. Despite her young age, she resisted the Taliban’s repressive regime, blogging about her experience and receiving global attention for her activism. In 2012, she was the target of an assassination attempt by a Taliban gunman. Though seriously injured from the attack, she eventually recovered and continued her activism, continuing to decry the Taliban. On Saturday, August 17, she posted a story on Instagram recalling a memory of the way music affected her life growing up.
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“One of my favorite memories from Swat Valley is a field trip I took in middle school with my best friend, Moniba (second photo, on the left). Giggling, we went to a waterfall hidden away in a lush green mountain. We were so excited because we were finally allowed to go to school again and could be outdoors with our friends, laughing and singing together,” wrote Yousafzai, who grew up in Pakistan under repressive Taliban rule that included bans on music and television, as well as a bar on girls going to school.”
Her post continued, “Having lived through a time where music and art were banned, music felt like a gift,” she continued. “Moniba and I found the highest rock we could, climbed on top of it and announced to all of our classmates and teachers we were going to perform our new favourite song called ‘LOVE STORY.’ We sang with all of our heart, taking in the joy we felt every second. That’s where my Swiftie journey began. It feels magical that my first-ever proper concert would be to see @TaylorSwift, singing along to every song surrounded by friends.”
Yousafzai was the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. At 17, she was the youngest-ever Nobel Prize laureate. Her post from the Eras show included a photo of her friend Moniba, as well as images from the show. She finished her post saying, “One day I hope we will live in a world where every girl will be able to enjoy music and live out her wildest dreams.”
Swift was recently forced to cancel three planned shows in Vienna after authorities uncovered a terrorist plot aimed at crowds of fans outside the shows. Austrian officials also say that investigators found chemical substances and technical devices in one suspect’s home. Swift, who has yet to offer any public comment about the attacks, will wrap up this leg of the Eras tour with two more London shows this week.
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