LONDON: A portrait of Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani girl who was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban last year for demanding education for girls, went on display on Wednesday at UK National Portrait Gallery in London.
The portrait painted by British artist Jonathan Yeo shows Malala doing her homework.
Yeo first met Malala and her family last April, when she was still recovering from injuries, but had started at a new school.
“It was a great privilege to spend some time with Malala and her family at such a pivotal moment in her life. Given how much she has already been through and all that she represents to the world, it took a while to adjust to the fact that she is still a very fragile teenager,” Yeo said.
“Hopefully the painting reflects the slight paradox of representing someone with enormous power and wisdom yet vulnerability and youth at the same time,” he added.
The portrait will later be auctioned for Malala’s charity fund, which promotes girls’ rights to education.
