Malala Yousafzai Provides "Open Relationship Guidance" on Marrying an Older Man.
The ultimate reward for Malala Yousafzai is spending time with her husband, Asser Malik. The Nobel Peace Prize winner wrote on the couple's recent trip to Dublin, Ireland, pointing out that they discovered some common ground while having slightly different attractions due to their three-year age gap.
“Here’s some free relationship advice,” in a voiceover for a TikTok video uploaded on August 20, the 28-year-old stated. “If you marry someone slightly older, like I did, you will suddenly be at legendary rock concerts and I will admit, Oasis in Dublin ended up being a show I loved as much as Asser.”
The activist said that in addition to the performance, she and Asser, 31, went hiking by the sea and looked around the Trinity College library, and she was "already preparing" the two of them to return.
Register for Tekedia Mini-MBA edition 19 (Feb 9 – May 2, 2026): big discounts for early bird.
Tekedia AI in Business Masterclass opens registrations.
Join Tekedia Capital Syndicate and co-invest in great global startups.
Register for Tekedia AI Lab: From Technical Design to Deployment (next edition begins Jan 24 2026).
“Everywhere we went, the Irish people were just so warm,” she exclaimed. “They made us feel immediately at home.”
Malala referred to the milestone as a "precious day" in their relationship when she and the cricket executive exchanged vows in a traditional Islamic marriage ceremony in November 2021.
“Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life,” at the time, she stated in an Instagram post. “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.”
However, a few months prior to her nuptials, Malala said that she was reluctant 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?” In July 2021, she stated to British Vogue. “My mum is like… ‘Don’t you dare say anything like that! You have to get married; marriage is beautiful.’”
Malala said that she progressively softened her position on the issue after witnessing her peers formally announce their own partnerships.
“Even until my second year of university, I just thought, ‘I'm never going to get married, never going to have kids–just going to do my work,’” she revealed. “I'm going to be happy and live with my family forever. I didn't realize that you're not the same person all the time. You change as well and you're growing.”
Uploaded files: