Malala Yousafzai uses TikTok trends to reach and engage with new fans

Posted on 31st October 2025

Education activist Malala Yousafzai only joined TikTok at the start of August but in three months she's grown a big audience by having fun with a whole series of the platform's current trends to raise awareness of her newly-released memoir Finding My Way.

At the same time she's using the platform to inspire and engage with young girls across the world who know about her achievements from learning about her at school and can't believe she's posting on TikTok and replying to their comments. And she's reaching a whole new set of young people who say they didn’t know who she was until discovering her on TikTok.

This TikTok – referencing the Group 7 trend – is just one of many examples that have helped her build up more than 800k followers on her page and 14 million likes across the videos she's posted.

Some of the iconic trends she's done include teaming up with Jimmy Fallon for the What's Up and Beez in the Trap lipsync trend, the PinkPantheress "My name is Pink and I'm really glad to meet you" handshaking trend with women and girls she met on a recent trip to Tanzania, and the Charli XCX Girl, so confusing strutting trend where she jokes about not understanding Google Maps.

On her version of the Beez in the Trap trend people are saying they never expected to see Malala lipsyncing to a 4 Non Blondes and Nicki Minaj song – especially after what they've studied about her in school:

• "This is like having a dream while you have a fever"

• "A historical figure rapping to Nicki Minaj, what a time to be alive"

• "The fact that a historical figure I learned about in school is making a TikTok rapping next to Jimmy Fallon is a crazy concept"

• "I keep forgetting malala is in our timeline and not the 50s or smth"

• "My teachers explain her like she died 20 centuries ago 💔"

• "Ok so this was not the pg rated Malala I was taught in school 😭"

• "Seeing Malala doing TikTok trends is taking me out 😭"

People are loving the way Malala has been using humour to engage with her new audience on TikTok – also in her version of the "I'm bored" trend where she references a revelation in her book that she smoked from a bong of cannabis when she was at Oxford University.

In the book she describes how after a couple of puffs from the bong she collapsed and "suddenly I was 15 years old again", when she was shot by the Taliban in Pakistan, reliving the feeling of being in a coma and seeing a slideshow of images of the school bus, the gunman and blood everywhere.

Comments on this TikTok and others show just how much Malala has inspired young girls across the world in their studies, how much they learn about her in school, and how they use photos of her as motivation:

• "Malala, I just wanted to say how much I respect and admire you. Your courage, kindness, and dedication to education and women’s rights inspires me so deeply. You’ve shown the world the power of standing up for what’s right, even in the face of danger. When I’m older, I hope I can be like you by helping women and girls in Afghanistan and everywhere gain the education and freedom they deserve. Thank you for being such an incredible role model and for showing us all that one voice can truly make a difference."

• "My 6th grade class just read an excerpt from your book in their reading class. I ordered your memoir to read to them because they want to know more about their new hero. We love you! 🥰"

• "My daughter learned about you in school and honestly you’ve become her idol, (she’s 9) we love a fighting for rights queen 👑"

• "Malala you are on my fyp so much I'm locking in this exam season"

• "You're my wallpaper when I study queen"

• "I printed out a NEW picture of you and taped it to my laptop to motivate me when I study 🙌🏻 Education is a gift."

Students who are using Malala to "lock in" to their studies are posting TikToks of photos of her on their desks and around the house. As one student said, "She's here to remind me that education is a privilege."

Malala herself joked that the photo many students are using is from 13 years ago:

She's since gone on to share a series of more recent photos students could use to "upgrade your study motivation" which some are already printing out or using on their phone lock screens.