Everyone was pleasantly surprised when Malala Yousafzai tweeted about her nikah ceremony with Asser Malik! The nikah took place on November 9th in a small, intimate family gathering in Birmingham. Soon after, Malala tweeted,
“Today marks a precious day in my life. Asser and I tied the knot to be partners for life. We celebrated a small nikkah ceremony at home in Birmingham with our families. Please send us your prayers. We are excited to walk together for the journey ahead.”
While the couple had kept their relationship private from the public eye, it is speculated that they have known each other since 2018. As congratulatory messages started to pour in from all over the world, many were curious about her husband, Asser Malik.
According to LinkedIn, Mr Malik did his schooling at Aitchison College and then pursued a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and Political Science from LUMS and graduated in 2012. He has been affiliated with the sports world for many years while having previously worked in the corporate sector for multiple FMCGs such as Engro Foods Limited and Coca-Cola. He is currently the General Manager High Performance at PCB.
However, while very little is publicly known about him, we at FUCHSIA Magazine did some online sleuthing and found out ten interesting facts about Malala’s Mystery Man!
1) He Was Smitten With Malala Way Before The General Public Even Knew About Their Nikah
When Malala Posted a photograph on Twitter in December 2020, their mutual friend Sara retweeted it with the lyrics ‘tujhe dekha toh yeh jaana sanam’ (from the classic Bollywood movie Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge) and Asser Malik replied with ‘Easy 😆’ – because honestly, is there a better way to appreciate someone other than quoting lyrics from Bollywood musical hits?!
2) Asser Malik’s ‘Last Man Standing’ Is The World’s Largest Amateur T20 Cricket League
Asser Malik is the franchise owner of ‘Last Man Standing’ which, according to their Twitter bio, is ‘the world’s largest amateur T20 cricket league’. He set up the cricket league in an attempt to revive grassroots cricket in Pakistan in an organized and structured way, provide players with experience and give them international exposure, activate areas where there is a dearth of cricket infrastructure and contribute to the cricketing ecosystem and to find good corporate and development partners to build long term beneficial partnerships. (source: LinkedIn)
And when LMS played their World Series in the UK, Malala made an appearance to offer her support to the teams and the players!
Moreover, with the help of Ali KhanTareen and Multan Sultans (the cricket team that represents Multan in the PSL), Asser Malik aims to secure social mobility and female empowerment in Southern Punjab – all with the help of cricket!
“When we introduced the sport to government schools in Pakistan…it’s made a huge difference, especially to the confidence of the girls…When you give them the facilities, the opportunity and a nice safe environment everyone started playing…When you start having girls play and starting to excel in sports which have been seen as just men’s sports, you see the respect for women go up – from the boys and the elders in the community. That leads to a good societal change”. stated Tareen in an interview with The Cricketer.
3) He’s Really Passionate About Innovation & Making A Positive Impact Globally
Asser Malik attended the World Economic Forum’s 6th annual Shape Europe Conference in Belfast in 2018. Over 150 Shapers from around the world attended the conference and shared their thoughts about Brexit and the current political climate, start-ups, creative industries and Northern Ireland’s history. (source: Global Shapers)
4) He’s A Game Of Thrones Fan
I mean, is there anyone who isn’t a Game of Thrones fan at this point? The show was, and is, a hit amongst the public and it’s no surprise that Asser Malik is a fan of the franchise.
5) Asser Malik Is A Gamer Through & Through
Mr Malik is definitely a Call Of Duty fan! When cricketer Sam Billings tweeted inquiring about tips so he could get better at Call of Duty: Warzone, Tom Banton replied that he should uninstall the game – which elicited a laugh from Asser Malik.
6) He Shipped Deepika Padukone With Ranbir Kapoor
In the ultimate debate between Ranveer Singh and Ranbir Kapoor and who Deepika should’ve ended up with, Asser Malik was definitely #TeamRanbir and was gutted when Deepika Padukone didn’t end up marrying him.
7) He Went To LUMS & Often Reminisces About His Time Spent There
In typical LUMS grad fashion (insert memes about LUMS alumni never missing an opportunity to tell people they’re from LUMS), Asser Malik surely misses his time spent there and cherishes the memories and friends he made at university.
8) His Political Allegiance Lies With Imran Khan & He Believes In His Vision For “Naya Pakistan”
After the Supreme Court of Pakistan acquitted Asia Bibi based on the basis of insufficient evidence, there was a lot of backlash against the judges and Prime Minister Imran Khan. Soon after, the PM addressed the nation and appealed to its rationalities. At the time, Asser Malik had tweeted in support of the PM and hoped that Pakistan’s political parties would see reason and do everything to curb violence and unnecessary hate.
Moreover, at the time he still believed in the PM’s vision for “Naya Pakistan” – however, how true that sentiment remains today is uncertain (especially amidst Pakistan’s economic meltdown).
9) His Favourite Footballer is Maradona
Asser Malik’s favourite footballer is the Argentian footballer Maradona – who is hailed as a legend because of his “Hand of God” goal that allowed his team to win the 1986 FIFA World Cup against England.
10) He Supports Newcastle United
Apart from his interest in all things cricket, he also loves football. His favourite English professional football club is Newcastle United and he is definitely one of their biggest supporters!
We hope you enjoyed reading these interesting facts about Asser Malik, as much as we loved scouring the internet to find them. Lastly, we wish the lovebirds all the best for their future and hope to see more of them together sharing the limelight!
