Malala Yousafzai has a big reason to celebrate.
On Tuesday, Nov. 9, the girls' education advocate and Nobel Peace Prize winner confirmed that she had married her partner, Asser Malik.
"Today marks a precious day in my life," she wrote on Instagram. "Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. 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."
Asser also confirmed the news by posting photos from their wedding shoot with a heart emoji. A nikkah is an Islamic marriage contract.
Back in July, Malala revealed her thoughts about marriage during an interview with British Vogue. "I still don't understand why people have to get married," she told the publication. "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?"
Malala added, "My mum is like…‘Don't you dare say anything like that! You have to get married, marriage is beautiful.'"
But the 24-year-old Oxford graduate said her views on getting hitched began to change after seeing her peers making a lifelong commitment.
"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 shared. "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."
Malala was 15 years old when she was attacked by a Taliban gunman on her way home from school in Pakistan. Once she moved to the United Kingdom to receive treatment in Birmingham, Malala began campaigning for human rights and helped co-found the Malala Fund, an organization that aims to help girls all over the world receive education.
Along the way, she has inspired millions of followers with her courage and philanthropy. Many expressed their well wishes online after learning about her marriage.
Reese Witherspoon wrote, "Congratulations on this wonderful moment" while fellow activist Greta Thunberg commented "congratulations" with three heart emojis.