Malal Yousafzai Launches Extracurricular Apple TV Programming Partnership

Women’s rights activist Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai is building on her longstanding relationship with Apple with an exciting, original programming partnership for Apple TV+. The alliance will produce dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation, and children’s series, — all born of Malala’s historic ability to inspire people of every age in every country in the world.

“I believe in the power of stories to bring families together, forge friendships, build movements, and inspire children to dream,” said Malala Yousafzai. “And I couldn’t ask for a better partner than Apple to help bring these stories to life. I’m grateful for the opportunity to support women, young people, writers, and artists in reflecting the world as they see it.”

Malala and her new production studio Extracurricular is an extension of Apple’s long-running relationship with the young women who was shot in the head by Taliban forces. Sitting in her Swat Valley school bus on Oct. 9, 2012, Malala remained unconscious and in critical condition at the Tawalpindi Institute of Cardiology. In a symbolic girls education nightmare watched by the entire world, Malala was then airlifted out of Pakistan to the UK to seek asylum.

The brilliant humanitarian and activist, inspired by her own education activist father Ziauddin, recovered at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham UK. In addition to offering world class medical resources, Birmingham has a large population — about 20% — of Muslims from all over the world.

When Malala founded Malala Fund to champion every girl’s right to 12 years of safe, free, quality education, Apple proudly became her first Laureate partner “supporting the organization’s work with local advocates and teachers in eight countries where girls face significant education challenges. Apple also assists with technology, curriculum, and research into policy changes to support girls’ education. The partnership has since expanded, and in Brazil, Apple’s 10 Developer Academies have partnered with Malala Fund to advance girls’ education opportunities there and around the world”, writes the Apple Newsroom. .

The voice of young women worldwide, Malala Yousafzai graduated virtually from Oxford University in Fall 2020. She wrote an essay published on Vanity Fair “Not the Ending I Imagined”: Malala on Her Virtual Oxford Graduation”.

Malala will join Apple’s burgeoning roster of creative visionaries, including Oprah Winfrey, Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Will Smith, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Idris Elba, Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio, Octavia Spencer, Kumail Nanjiani, Alfonso Cuarón, and more.

Malala Yousafzai + Father Ziauddin Sign With UTA Agency Culture + Leadership Head Darnell Strom

Nobel winner, Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai has signed with United Talent Agency. Courtesy of UTA

21 years-old Pakistani activist and Oxford University student Malala Yousafzai and her father Ziauddin have signed with United Talent Agency’s new Culture and Leadership division. which reunites them with their former CAA (Creative Artists Agency) agent turned UTA division head Darnell Strom.

UTA head of Culture and Leadership division Darnell Strom.

Strom left his agent position at CAA in January to head the new division at UTA. Strom himself is an experienced speaker and moderator, taking the stage at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Sundance, Clinton Global Initiative, Brilliant Minds, Web Summit and the United Nations' Nexus Global Youth Summit. 

The world came to know Malala Yousafzai in 2012 when the Nobel Peace Prize winner was shot in the head by a Taliban assassin, who boarded her school bus in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.

Malala survived and was airlifted to the United Kingdom, where she recovered in Birmingham, and continued her activist work with a strong emphasis on girls education. Together with her schoolteacher father, Ziauddin who was an equally strong proponent of girls education, perhaps the world’s most famous father-daughter activists team founded the Malala Fund. In 2014, at age 17, the astoundingly committed and articulate Malala became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Now 21, she is studying philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford.

Malala Yousafzai and her father Ziauddin Yousafzai via National Geographic Australia

"When I started my fight for girls at 11 years old, working with media and public speaking were key to building support for my efforts," said Malala, the subject of Davis Guggenheim's 2015 documentary ‘He Named Me Malala’ and author of ‘ I Am Malala’, ‘Malala's Magic Pencil’ and ‘We Are Displaced’. "I look forward to working with UTA to develop creative ways to amplify the voices of the next generation of girls and young women."

"To achieve gender equality, we need support from women and men, leaders in every sector. Darnell understands this, and I am excited to continue working with him at UTA," said Ziauddin Yousafzai, who serves alongside his daughter on the Malala Fund board. He wrote his autobiography, ‘Let Her Fly’, last year.

The father and daughter team were interviewed by National Geographic Australia in 2016, where the question was posed to Mr. Yousafzai: “What’s it like to be known as Malala’s dad?” Note dad’s use of the word ‘patriarchy’ in his response!

I think it happened to me in Swat before Malala was attacked. My friends in Swat, when they used to invite me to the podium, they used to say, “Now we invite Malala’s father.” So it was really something very inspiring. In a patriarchal society, men and women both, they are always known by their family, and I think I am one of those few—hardly any—who is known by his daughter. I’m very proud of it, and I’m thankful to God. I’m a blessed father to be known by my daughter. 

On Thursday and Friday of this week, she spoke at The Art of Leadership for Women Conferences in Calgary and then Vancouver, Canada.

Malala isn’t current listed on the 10th annual Women in the World Summit in New York April 10-12, 2019.

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