It was a monumental meeting of minds, 17-year-old climate change campaigner Greta Thunberg met 22-year-old human rights activist Malala Yousafzai in Oxford yesterday. The two icons of their generation sat down at Oxford University and took a picture together.
‘She’s the only friend I’d skip school for,’ Yousafzai tweeted alongside the image – while Thunberg shared it with the caption ‘So…today I met my role model. What else can I say?’
Thunberg is in the UK to join a school strike in Bristol on Friday, and took a trip down to Lady Margaret Hall at the university where Yousafzai is studying politics, philosophy and economics.
While it’s not known what the two talked about (why they’re the ones having to change the world instead enjoying their youth would be high on our list), Thunberg is said to have spoken to various students about ‘science, voting, the limits of protest, divestment, real zero v net zero, and much more’ according to Alan Rusbridger, the principal of Lady Margaret Hall.
The pictures the pair shared have since received over a million likes combined. 'Reason unlimited why I love this place,' tweeted Dr. Jennifer Cassidy, a politics lecturer at the University of Oxford. 'I walk out my door, up one street and see @Malala and @GretaThunberg talking outside. Two powerful young women standing for justice, truth and equality for all. So many, are so grateful, for all that you do. Keep shining bright.'
Since Thunberg began protesting outside of the Swedish parliament two years ago, she has inspired millions around the world to protest themselves.
Yousafzai is the youngest person ever to win the Nobel Peace Prize at the age of 17. Born in Pakistan, she has been an outspoken human rights activist since was shot in the head by the Taliban in 2012 for her activism, when she was aged just 11. Once out of critical condition, Yousafzai relocated to Birmingham where she continued her efforts for the right to education and founded the Malala Fund, a non-profit organisation with Shiza Shahid.
Read More:
Greta Thunberg Opens Up About Life With Aspergers: ‘Being Different Is A Superpower’
Malala Yousafzai Has Been Named The Youngest Ever UN Messenger Of Peace
Click through: the Women By Women ActionAid photo-series changing the stereotypes of women in poverty...
Women By Women ActionAid Campaign
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Rebeca Lane is a trailblazing Guatemalan hip-hop artist who uses her music to promote feminism and fight for social justice.
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She is a survivor of physical and sexual abuse at the hands of a former partner, a topic she addresses in her most famous song: 'Mujer Lunar', or 'Lunar Woman', which calls for respect for women's bodies.
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Margaret is a nurse and midwife working at the Kawaala Health Centre IV in Kampala, Uganda's capital.
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She has worked with ActionAid since 2013, connecting women and girls in need of help with ActionAid-supported shelters.
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Margaret survived domestic abuse at the hands of her former husband and now helps other women and girls rebuild their lives after experiencing violence.
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When Cossy's abusive husband passed away from HIV-related causes, she sought treatment and support from ActionAid Uganda's local partner, the Makerere Women's Development Association (MAWEDA).
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She received training in hairdressing and handicrafts, as well as money to open her own hair salon.
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The salon has been operating for 16 years and Cossy trains single and widowed women in hairdressing and basket-weaving skills.
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She also works as a facilitator for MAWEDA and was elected chair of her community.
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Asiah experienced years of domestic violence while raising her four children in the Wakiso district of Uganda.
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Since 2013, she has received counselling, financial support and legal assistance from ActionAid. She now has her own home, which she bought with the profit from her firewood and brick-making businesses.
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She also runs a hair salon, where she trains girls in hairdressing skills. 'I empower them to work hard, [then] they go and work for themselves,' she says.
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Nabuule is a counsellor for women and girls living with HIV in a poor neighbourhood in Kampala, where she grew up. A survivor of violence, Nabuule sought help from Tusitukirewamu, an ActionAid partner in Uganda.
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Through the Tusitukirewamu community group, Nabuule learned to make reusable sanitary pads. She now sells them at affordable prices to women and girls in rural areas and trains others to make them too. With the help of her sons, Nabuule also makes and sells liquid soap and doormats.
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Rahiba is the president of Laman, a fashion house in Kabul. Laman clothes are colourful but conservative; Rahiba describes them as 'modesty with an edge' because they do not reveal any skin.
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The company's first fashion show was covered by international media but sparked criticism in Afghanistan – some people accused Rahiba of 'westernising' their culture and a few seamstresses were pressured into quitting their jobs.
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Rahimi at a photoshoot for her designs in Kabul, Afghanistan.
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Fakhria Momtaz opened Kabul's first yoga studio, the Momtaz Yoga Centre, in 2015. Now, more than 50 women a day come to the centre – despite facing religious criticism.
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Nature is very important to Fakhria, so she often takes her classes outside. She believes her students 'must immerse themselves in nature and experience the changing seasons' in order to get the most out of their yoga practice.
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Marcelline is the founder of Rebuild Women's Hope (RWH), a women-only, non-for-profit coffee collective in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
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Set up in 2013, the collective now has nearly 2,000 members who grow high-quality coffee on Idjwi Island.
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Their coffee is sold around the world, including in the UK and US.
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In 2017, Marcelline won the prestigious Robert Burns Humanitarian Award for founding the collective and transforming the lives of Congolese women.
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RWH member, Bora Safari, 23, sorts through coffee at the Goma woman's coffee depot.
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Marcelline in her office in Bukavu inspecting some coffee beans.
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Marcelline shows RWH members articles about their collective on her phone.
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Female coffee farmers and members of the RWH gather during Marcelline's visit and talk through their progress.