Malala becomes honorary Canadian

Urges lawmakers to prioritise girls’ education when the country’s Parliament hosts G7 summit next year.

Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai (left) during a meeting with Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in his office on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on April 12, 2017.

Malala Yousafzai is using her honorary Canadian citizenship to call on the country’s leaders to take real action to improve educational opportunities for girls.

The teenage Nobel prize winner spoke to the Canadian Parliament after becoming an honorary citizen on Wednesday. She asked lawmakers to make education for girls a top priority when it hosts the G7 summit next year.

Ms. Yousafzai was 15 when she shot in the head by Taliban militants in Pakistan in 2012. She was targeted due to her advocacy for women’s education. She was originally scheduled to receive the honor on Oct. 22, 2014, but the ceremony was cancelled after a gunman attacked Canada’s Parliament Hill that day.

Notes Trudeau’s tattoos

The 19-year-old also spoke of her friends’ excitement for her to meet youthful Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. She smiled while referencing Mr. Trudeau’s tattoos and practice of yoga.