July 2021 Issue

Malala Is British Vogue’s July Cover Star

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Nick Knight

When it comes to people I admire, Malala Yousafzai is right at the top. At 23, the world’s most famous university graduate has already lived so many lives. Activist, author, tireless campaigner for girls’ education, daughter, sister, student and survivor. It’s hard to believe it was only a decade ago that she was a young teenager with a passion for learning, living in Pakistan’s Taliban-controlled Swat Valley, blogging about her experience for the BBC and giving a voice to girls denied the right to learn. A near-fatal attempt on her life in 2012 – or what she calls “the incident” – brought her to Britain for specialist surgery. But she didn’t stop there.

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In the years since, Malala – her renown is such that only one name is required – has taken the indescribable fear of her early life and turned it into a message that resonates around the world. In 2013 she published a moving memoir, spent her 16th birthday addressing the UN, and established Malala Fund, an NGO that now has active projects in eight countries across the world, with the goal of ensuring that every girl on earth has 12 years of free and safe education. The following year, she became the youngest-ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. Her friend Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, puts it so well: “She has a North Star, which always impresses me.” Me too. 

“Malala has taken the indescribable fear of her early life and turned it into a message that resonates around the world,” Edward Enninful writes. 

Nick Knight

But who is the young woman behind the myth? Over the course of three days in April, Vogue spent time getting to know Malala in London. She sat for photographer Nick Knight, filmed an engrossing “In Conversation” video with Tim, which you will be able to watch on our online platforms from Thursday, and spoke in depth with journalist Sirin Kale for the cover story. From her post-uni wobbles to her move into TV production and her eloquent thoughts on wearing the headscarf – and even her trepidation about love and relationships – a new side to Malala, the grown-up, is revealed. I hope you all love getting to know this extraordinary person as much as we did.

Elsewhere, summer has truly arrived, and with it fashion to lift the spirits. Our Trends section this month is powered by a longed-for sense of freedom and ease, from the wonder of pink, to the joys of a puff sleeve and a pleated skirt. On the Beauty pages, find the Vogue guide to summer lustrousness, inside and out. It’s all about feeling good. I think it’s safe to say we have earned it.

It certainly feels like a season of great promise, but few will have such high hopes for it as Anthony Joshua. Rare is the boxer who becomes a national treasure, yet the 31-year-old from Watford – in his sporting prime, a hero to millions – is exactly that. He is in full and frank conversation with Jourdan Dunn in the July issue. Needless to say, I loved hearing these two great British success stories talking about their paths to glory. Enjoy.

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The July 2021 issue of British Vogue is on newsstands on 4 June