Greta meets Malala: ‘She’s the only friend I’d skip school for’

Malala meets Greta: ‘She’s the only friend I’d skip school for’

Greta Malala
Two of the most influential young women in the world have met at the University of Oxford to discuss their activism.

Teenage climate activist, Greta Thunberg, met human rights activist Malala Yousafzai for the first time at the university, where Yousafzai is student.

Yousafzai, 22, took to Instagram overnight, posting a photo of her and Thunberg with their arms around each other, with the caption, “Thank you @gretathunberg” and a heart emoji.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Thank you, @gretathunberg. ❤️

A post shared by Malala (@malala) on

Thunberg, 17, followed up, also posting photos of the pair, writing, “So… today I met my role model. What else can I say? @malala”.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

So… today I met my role model. What else can I say? @malala

A post shared by Greta Thunberg (@gretathunberg) on

Yousafzai later wrote on Twitter that Thunberg was “the only friend I’d skip school for”.

Thunberg is in the UK for a school climate strike in Bristol on Friday, while Yousafzai is currently studying politics, philosophy and economics at the university.

The pair met at Lady Margaret Hall, Yousafzai’s Oxford college, where Thunberg also took the time to meet with other students, to talk about climate change and protesting.

Both young women have shot to the heights of global recognition in recent years, Thunberg for her leadership on climate activism, and Yousafzai for her advocacy on education and human rights issues.

Yousafzai’s activism began after she was horrifically shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan for campaigning for girls to be allowed to go to school. In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2019 and 2020, Thunberg was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts that sparked the global climate school strike movement.

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