Summer 2022 | Page 104

But education remained on her mind; and in 2012, at the age of 15, she spoke out publicly on behalf of girl’s right to learn. This made her a target for Taliban extremists. A man boarded her bus, asking, “Where is Malala?” Identified, he shot her on the left side of her head. She woke 10 days later in a hospital in Birmingham, England, with doctors explaining her circumstances.

After months and months of undergoing multiple surgeries and engaging in rehabilitative exercises, Malala was able to rejoin her family in 2014 at their new home in the United Kingdom. Undaunted by her circumstances, Malala said she had a choice: “I could live a quiet life or I could make the most of this new life I had been given. I determined to continue my fight until every girl could go to school.” She started the Malala Fund with her father. It would be dedicated to giving every girl an opportunity to achieve “a future she chooses.” The same year, the Nobel committee awarded Malala the Nobel Peace Prize. She became the youngest Nobel laureate ever.

The Second Part of Her Story

The second part of her story is two-pronged: she enrolls at Oxford University to study Philosophy, Politics, and Economics, graduating in 2020; and she builds the Malala Fund into the global powerhouse it is today.

The Malala Fund

Malala and Ziauddin Yousafzai founded the Malala Fund to “champion every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.” The fund estimates there are more than 130 million girls who are currently out of school because of poverty, war, and gender discrimination.

For this reason, the fund engages in several programs to provide not only direct support, but also influence the formation of policies and practices that prevent girls from attending school – including child labor, early marriage, conflict, cost, gender bias, health, natural disasters, and poor quality of life.

It does so because it believes educating girls “is

an investment in economic growth, a healthier

workforce, lasting peace and the future of our

planet.” And they cite specific examples:

•Millions of educated girls mean more working women with the potential to add up to $12 trillion USD to global growth.

•Communities are more stable — and can recover faster after conflict — when girls are educated.

•When a country gives all its children secondary education, they cut their risk of war in half. Education is vital for security around the world because extremism grows alongside inequality.

•Educated girls are healthier citizens who raise healthier families.

•Educated girls are less likely to marry young or contract HIV — and more likely to have healthy, educated children. Each additional year of school a girl completes cuts both infant mortality and child marriage rates.

•Investing in girls’ education is good for our planet.

•The Brookings Institution calls secondary schooling for girls the most cost-effective and best investment against climate change. Research also suggests that girls’ education reduces a country’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

The Malala Fund has invested $22 million through 62 programs in eight countries to date.

We don’t build schools. We build networks.

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