Malala painting unveiled at London's National Portrait Gallery

Published
17

LONDON: The first painted portrait of Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl shot by the Taliban for campaigning for girls' education, goes on show at the National Portrait Gallery in London on Wednesday.

The one-metre height picture by Jonathan Yeo, one of Britain's leading portrait painters, shows the 16-year-old doing her homework.

It will be on display until January, when it will be sold to raise money for Malala's campaign for the right to girls to go to school, the gallery said.

Yeo painted Malala in Britain where she has settled since the attack in her home town in Swat in October, and he said it had been a “privilege”.

“Given how much she has already been through and all that she represents to the world, it took a while to adjust to the fact that she is still a very fragile teenager,” he said.

“Hopefully the painting reflects the slight paradox of representing someone with enormous power and wisdom yet vulnerability and youth at the same time.”

Opinion

Editorial

Iran status quo
Updated 12 Nov, 2026

Iran status quo

The US cannot hold the world hostage in order to find an honourable exit from a disastrous war for which it has only itself — and Israel — to blame.
Unspent funds
12 Nov, 2026

Unspent funds

THE slow pace of development spending shows how public investment continues to bear the brunt of efforts to create a...
Homes and hope
12 Nov, 2026

Homes and hope

THE completion of more than one million homes for families displaced by the 2022 floods is a moment worth...
Opposition moves
Updated 11 Nov, 2026

Opposition moves

Expectations of the maulana leading another street confrontation with the government anytime soon are likely to remain wishful thinking.
CT battle
Updated 11 Nov, 2026

CT battle

Gains made over the last month should be capitalised on, with the affected areas permanently cleared of terrorists.
Water management
11 Nov, 2026

Water management

THE Sindh chief minister, while reflecting on Karachi’s water woes, recently observed that water supply is only part...