Malala Yousafzai shamed for wearing skinny jeans and heels to class

Last week marked a major event and anniversary in Malala Yousafzai’s life. “5 years ago, I was shot in an attempt to stop me from speaking out for girls’ education. Today, I attend my first lectures at Oxford,” she wrote on Twitter with a photo of her school books.

Shot in the head by Taliban militants for defending her right to pursue an education, she’s now being attacked for a different reason. An unverified photo of a woman that’s purported to be the 20-year-old has surfaced and was shared by Pakistani media outlets.

The woman in the image is wearing a headscarf, skinny jeans, a bomber jacket, and brown boots with a small heel.

According to social media, Yousafzai’s outfit indicates her Westernization, which will eventually lead to her tossing what’s left of her religion and culture, like her hijab. “How long till the scarf is off too?” one follower commented on the photo. “[J]ourney from malala to oolala,” someone else wrote. “I was thinking of preaching someone about keeping our culture of clothes alive when living abroad, and giving them example of Malala but I think, I can’t do that now.”

Others are comparing her to Mia Khalifa, a porn star. “When i saw first i thought that its mia khalifa,” someone wrote on Facebook. “[M]alala I thought she is mia khalifa.”

This criticism has sparked a major debate, and people are coming out in droves to defend the young Pakistani woman, who became the youngest Nobel Prize recipient at 16. “Leave her alone… She is the only Pakistani to address the Canadian Parliament and represent her faith…. More than you losers out there… Who are mere keyboard warriors…. Leave her alone,” someone wrote on Facebook. “This is her choice and do understand its nearly impossible to wear shalwar kameez in UK weather, u can wear kameez with jacket but shalwar?” said another follower. “People who are calling her Mia Khalifa…. Shame on all of you…. Malala has done more for women than you morons can dream off….” wrote a third. “[P]roud Pakistani moment. her dupata is still there. not like our ruling elites or hypocrites country men.”

Many pointed out that she’s still representing Pakistan appropriately. “There is much Haya in her dress even in London than most of fashionable ladies here in Pakistan. P.S: Even she wore Dupatta in London unlike many dont wear in Pakistan,” someone wrote on Facebook.

Read more from Yahoo Lifestyle:

• 9-year-old directs her mom’s maternity photo shoot, and the internet loves it

• Mychael Knight, former ‘Project Runway’ star, has died at 39

• Bailey from ‘The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants’ is all grown up and a stunning skincare guru

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for nonstop inspiration delivered fresh to your feed, every day.