Malala Yousafzai

I know both of them are very kind and caring parents, but...

They are not just thinking as parents, but I think they're also thinking as representatives of the bigger community in Pakistan or relatives.

And sometimes I feel like there are just too many voices that are speaking when they are speaking.

It affects everything, like even a decision like what I was packing for college.

My mom was packing all the traditional Pakistani clothes for me.

I just wanted to wear jeans and jumpers or sweaters.

And I did not want to stand out at all.

So I remember packing all of these like more normal college clothes.

I remember going on Google and looking up Selena Gomez casual 2017 clothes.

Because I was like, you know, what is like a cool outfit, a casual outfit that everybody's wearing?

You know, both my mom and dad were really upset when they saw the whole backlash in Pakistan.

I remember like on phone with both mom and my dad and just being so mad at them because I said like, I am here at college, not for some pilgrimage or some like religious ceremony.

This is...

This is my college life and I want to be like every other student.

What am I even going to say in a clarification statement like apologies, I'm not going to wear jeans tomorrow or OK, let me defend jeans and say, you know, there are like Muslim people who wear jeans.

There's no fixed dress code for Muslims or, you know, like it's like this is this is going to be a whole thing.

Another debate, can women and girls just wear what they want?

So my dad in the end agreed.

My mom was still arguing with me, but then she sort of accepted it.

But I told them, I said, you know, you just never know.