Ziauddin Yousafzai (Urdu: ضیاء الدین یوسفزئی; Pashto: ضیاالدین یوسفزی; born 20 April 1969)[1] is a Pakistani educational entrepreneur[2] and activist best known as the father of Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai, who protested against the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan opposition to the education rights of girls, especially for Pakistani girls.

Ziauddin's father was the orator Rohul Amin Yousafzai, who was also a teacher of theology at a government high school and imam of the local mosque.

When his daughter, Malala, was old enough to start understanding that at a certain age girls were prohibited to attend school, he inspired her to stand up and speak up.

On 11 June 2015, Yousafzai received an honorary doctorate of law from Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada for his commitment to peace, as well as his ongoing efforts for the educational rights of girls in Pakistan and beyond.

[14] In his book he describes his fight for the rights of all children to have an equal education, and speaks about opportunities and social and political recognition.