“Hi, Twitter.”
It was a simple, two-word post on the popular micro-blogging site, but the response it generated in less than half a day has been staggering.
Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousafzai joined Twitter on Friday, posting a series of messages that immediately got to the point – calling on support for educating more girls worldwide, a cause that made her a target for the Taliban. And she chose her own graduation day to set the tone.
Within hours, global leaders – from Canadian president Justin Trudeau to UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres – extended a warm welcome to the 19-year-old, in some case retweeting her too. She even got a formal welcome from Twitter.
In the 14 hours since she created her account, Yousafzai has followed just one account, her organisation the Malala Fund, and posted seven tweets. In the meantime, she raked over 350,000 followers.
{{/usCountry}}In the 14 hours since she created her account, Yousafzai has followed just one account, her organisation the Malala Fund, and posted seven tweets. In the meantime, she raked over 350,000 followers.
{{/usCountry}}A global icon for girl’s education, Yousafzai on Friday graduated from high school in Birmingham where she moved after being attacked by the Taliban in Pakistan in 2012. Two years later, she received the Nobel prize, sharing it with India’s Kailash Satyarthi.
Having finished high school, Yousafzai, who turns 20 this month, said she would continue her ‘Girl Power Trip’ next week in the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. She of course, posted this on Twitter.