Yahoo Sports 'It is what it is': Malala confirms viral story about cutting response to Instagrammer's 'thirst' pictures
Malala Yousafzai has confirmed a claim that she was shown “thirst traps” of a musician on Instagram that left her unimpressed.
The 23-year-old activist – the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize – reposted a tweet from a Pakistani singer claiming his friend had shown her sexy pictures of him in an attempt to entice her.
Musician Sarjeel tweeted: “Thinking about the time my friend went to oxford for an exchange program, met Malala Yousafzai, and showed her my thirst traps on Instagram, to which she said ‘I’m not impressed by appearances’.”
It is what it is 👀 https://t.co/dJ3eFcnDjx
— Malala (@Malala) October 13, 2020
Yousafzai confirmed the story after it went viral on social media, commenting: “It is what it is.”
Read more: Harry and Meghan discuss how coronavirus impacts girls' education with Malala
Sarjeel, 21, replied: “I love you @Malala (for curving me and blowing this up).”
A post shared by Sharjeel (@sharjeelmusic) on
Thirst traps is a term given to sexy pictures or messages posted on social media in order to attract others.
Yousafzai was born in Pakistan and started writing an anonymous blog for the BBC about life under the Taliban when she was just 11.
Taliban gunmen shot her in 2012 – when she was only 15 – after she campaigned for girls to be allowed to attend school.
Read more: 6 times Malala Yousafzai made us feel we could conquer the world
Following the incident, she and her family relocated to Birmingham in the UK. After her recovery, she and her father co-founded the Malala Fund to continue advocating for girls' education.
In 2014 Yousafzai, along with Kailash Satyarthi, an Indian advocate for children's rights, won the Nobel Peace Prize in a joint ceremony.
This June she graduated from Oxford University with a degree in philosophy, politics and economics.
Watch: Malala Yousafzai address the United Nations
