Malala Yousafzai Discusses Taliban Attack Trauma Triggered by Marijuana Use
Marijuana session triggers Malala’s haunting Taliban attack memories.
In a raw and revealing interview with The Guardian, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, now 28, has shared a startling chapter of her life ahead of her forthcoming memoir, Finding My Way. The global education advocate disclosed how a marijuana session with friends at the University of Oxford unleashed suppressed memories of the 2012 Taliban attack that nearly claimed her life, plunging her into a spiral of panic and unresolved trauma.
At 15, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman on a school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley for championing girls’ education, an act that left her with a shattered jaw, damaged facial nerve, and a fractured eardrum. Airlifted to the UK for life-saving treatment, she emerged as a global icon, but her brain had buried the attack’s horrors—until a night at Oxford changed everything. While using a bong, Malala was overwhelmed by vivid flashbacks: “Bus. Man. Gun. Blood.” She described to The Guardian how the images flooded back, as if reliving the chaos of being rushed through a crowd to an ambulance. “I felt like I was in the afterlife,” she said, recalling how she lost consciousness and needed a friend to carry her to her room.
The experience triggered debilitating panic attacks, insomnia, and anxiety, with physical symptoms like sweating and a racing heart. Therapy later revealed the root: unprocessed trauma from the shooting, compounded by her childhood under Taliban rule and the pressures of academic life. “I survived an attack and laughed it off. I thought nothing could scare me,” Malala shared. “But small things broke me. I learned bravery is fighting both external threats and your own mind.”
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Her upcoming memoir, a follow-up to 2013’s I Am Malala, dives deeper into her adult life, including her marriage to Asser Malik, a Pakistani cricket manager, and their new venture, Recess, promoting women’s sports. Malala anticipates backlash for her candid marijuana revelation but remains unapologetic, letting the book—set for release soon—speak for itself.
The 2012 attack cemented Malala’s resolve, leading to the Malala Fund and global advocacy for girls’ education. Now, her openness about mental health and trauma offers a new layer to her story, resonating with those grappling with their own hidden scars. As she navigates criticism and continues her mission, Malala’s journey underscores a universal truth: healing is as courageous as surviving.
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