Malala Yousafzai has begun life at Oxford - but has been targeted by trolls for apparently wearing jeans, heeled boots and a bomber jacket during her first weeks at the university.

The Nobel laureate, who almost paid with her life at the hands of a Taliban gunman for speaking out in favour of women's educational rights, has been criticised for swapping her shalwar kameeze for skinny jeans.

In an unverified photograph published in Pakistan, the 20-year-old activist is apparently seen complementing her jeans with ankle high boots and a bomber jacket.

If she had hoped to slip into student life at Oxford with the anonymity granted to her fellow under graduates, her wish has been lost on critics in her native Pakistan.

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She became the target of abuse over the picture despite keeping her "duppata" on her head as she has done since she arrived in Britain five years ago.

One vitriolic message posted on Twitter and re-published in the Pakistani media said: "That was the reason the bullet directly targeted her head long time ago."

Another hateful message said: "Look at hypocrite Malala wearing pants! Is she even a Muslim?"

A third said: "Want a nobel prize and getting admission into Oxford University? Step 1: get shot... so much for women rights advocacy lol."

BBC presenter Anita Anand, who presents Radio 4's Any Answers? Told MailOnline: "Malala can wear whatever she likes as far as I'm concerned.

"The baying criticism is coming from the most regressive quarters, and I doubt she could do anything to please them.

"I sincerely hope she never tries. All of my Pakistani friends agree with that sentiment.

"She is a heroine and a role model. Her insistence on an education has taken her to one of the finest learning establishments in the world. She refused to be deterred even though extremists tried to shoot her into line."

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Another fan Arsalan Ahmed Jaraal of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, near the Pakistan border with Afghanistan, said on Twitter: "What Malala wore in UK, is pretty common in Pakistan as well. Stop creating a fuss about it. Let others live their life, at least for once."

Saad Kaiser Khan tweeted: "A nation that doesn't have enough electricity, food or water resources but it debates about what a woman should and shouldn't wear."

Malala announced her arrival at Oxford University on Twitter with the message: "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 is studying a BA degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford which was also attended by former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was murdered by terrorists during an election rally in Rawalpindi in 2007.

Malala acquired her A-levels in Birmingham after moving there following an attempt on her life October 9th 2012 by a Taliban gunman who shot her in the head.

The terrorists had been angered by her radio broadcasts and BBC blogs from Pakistan as a schoolgirl advocating education for all women in Pakistan, which was forbidden by the extremists.

She was transferred to the UK to continue her recovery and education after an international outpouring of support and weeks after her murder attempt, a group of fifty leading Muslim clerics in Pakistan issued a fatwā against those who tried to kill her.

She has consistently appeared in public and before heads of state in her national dress of shalwar kameez and with her head covered, but her new chosen style of dress has sparked an unwarranted backlash.