Kainat Riaz (L) and Shazia Ramzan (R). Photo: The Telegraph via Jay Williams

It was Malala who rose to fame after Taliban shot at her in October 2012 in an attempt to silence her. But the now-Nobel Prize winner was not alone when she was attacked; her friends Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan were also fired at.

Riaz and Ramzan – who at that time were 15 and 14, respectively – had just got done with an exam and were returning home with Malala when they were stopped by the Taliban.

“We were looking at him and then he shot Malala in the forehead. He shot me on my hand and shoulder, and Kainat's shoulder as well. Then he started shooting randomly,” Ramzan said in an interview with The Telegraph.

While Ramzan and Malala – who was shot in the forehead – were taken to the hospital, Riaz ran to her family home in fear, and upon reaching, told her parents that the latter was killed. She spoke of how scared she was and was unable to close her eyes to sleep.

The two girls were given medical attention in Pakistan, as their friend was treated in the UK’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital due to the complicated injury. Fate did not favour them once again when their return was met with unwelcome gestures, with neighbours and acquaintances treating them as outcasts.

But they healed at home, silently.



Shazia Ramzan (L) and Kainat Riaz (R). Photo: The Telegraph via Jay Williams

However, 2013 brought good news for them, when, after being referred to by Malala, they reached UWC Atlantic College in South Wales for studies. They were provided 100 percent scholarship and offered visa assistance by UN special envoy for global education Gordon Brown.

Britain, though a refreshing challenge from the untoward feelings and constant panic back home, opened up a new world for the “Pakistani twins” that came with its share of challenges. Neither was familiar with wandering about unaccompanied by family members and the food was different too.

The girls now devour pizza and pasta passionately and have also tasted the biryani made in the foreign city. “They try their best [to make the biryani delicious],” Ramzan stated.

The good thing, nevertheless, is that they are not discriminated against. Although they visit home twice every year, they are not even isolated. Riaz commented, “They call us Kainat and Shazia, not Malala's friends. We are famous in Pakistan. Here, we are not special.”

Interestingly, they also face a problem that most Pakistani people do when they move abroad: finger-pointing friends and relatives. “If I'm wearing jeans and my [Pakistani] friends see pictures online, they say, 'you forgot your culture',” Riaz said.



Shazia Ramzan (L) and Kainat Riaz (R). Photo: The Telegraph via Jay Williams

Last month, the girls were sent an offer to join a nursing school in Edinburgh; “Inshallah, [if] we get the grades."

Brown, who had helped them earlier as well, is once again helping them search for funding sources.

Both the teenage girls look up to Malala for inspiration; she remembers them well too. Though they stay in touch over the Internet, they are not able to meet each other frequently. The three met on Eid in Birmingham last year.

At her award acceptance speech, Malala mentioned the two by their names. “I am not a lone voice. I am many. I am Malala, but I am also Shazia. I am Kainat,” she declared.

For their future, Riaz and Ramzan intend to go for further studies and give back to their motherland. Riaz explained, “Now I think about all girls. I want to stand up for them,” whereas Ramzan vows to help however she can.