Malala Fund is an international,

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

organization that advocates for

girls' education Female education is a catch-all term for a complex set of issues and debates surrounding education (primary education, secondary education, tertiary education, and health education in particular) for girls and women. It is frequently called girls ...

. It was co-founded by

Malala Yousafzai Malala Yousafzai (; , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997) is a Pakistani female education activist, film and television producer, and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate at the age of 17. She is the youngest Nobel Prize laureate in history, ...

, the Pakistani activist for female education and the youngest

Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; ; ) are awards administered by the Nobel Foundation and granted in accordance with the principle of "for the greatest benefit to humankind". The prizes were first awarded in 1901, marking the fifth anniversary of Alfred N ...

laureate, and her father, Ziauddin. The stated goal of the organization is to ensure 12 years of free, safe and quality

education Education is the transmission of knowledge and skills and the development of character traits. Formal education occurs within a structured institutional framework, such as public schools, following a curriculum. Non-formal education als ...

for every girl. , the organization has 48 staff and supports 58 advocates working across

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

History

The first contribution to Malala Fund in 2013 came from

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

who gave a $200,000 personal donation, which was used to fund girls' education where Malala is from in

Swat Valley Swat District (), also known as the Swat Valley, is a district in the Malakand Division of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Known for its stunning natural beauty, the district is a popular tourist destination. With a population of 2,687,384 per th ...

. In 2014, Malala Fund helped build an all-girls secondary school in rural Kenya and provided school supplies and continued

education in Pakistan Education in Pakistan is overseen by the Federal Ministry of Education and the provincial governments, while the federal government mostly assists in curriculum development, accreditation and the financing of research and development. Artic ...

for children fleeing conflict in North Waziristan and the floods of 2014. In 2015, when the government of

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is . It has a tropical climate and envi ...

closed schools due to the

Ebola epidemic Ebola, also known as Ebola virus disease (EVD) and Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), is a viral hemorrhagic fever in humans and other primates, caused by ebolaviruses. Symptoms typically start anywhere between two days and three weeks after infe ...

, Malala Fund bought radios and created classrooms for 1,200 marginalized girls to continue their education. Building on Malala's advocacy for girls in

, Malala Fund pledged full scholarships to Chibok schoolgirls freed from the abduction by

Boko Haram Boko Haram, officially known as Jama'at Ahl al-Sunna li al-Da'wa wa al-Jihad (), is a self-proclaimed jihadist militant group based in northeastern Nigeria and also active in Chad, Niger, northern Cameroon, and Mali. In 2016, the group spli ...

to complete their secondary education. On 12 July 2015, her 18th birthday, Malala announced funding through Malala Fund of a secondary school in the

Bekaa Valley The Beqaa Valley (, ; Bekaa, Biqâ, Becaa) is a fertile valley in eastern Lebanon and its most important farming region. Industry, especially the country's agricultural industry, also flourishes in Beqaa. The region broadly corresponds to th ...

, near the Syrian border, for Syrian refugees. In 2016, Malala visited Dadaab Refugee Camp for her birthday and attended the graduation of refugee girls from a mentorship program on leadership and life skills supported by Malala Fund. In December 2016, the

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation The Gates Foundation is an American private foundation founded by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates. Based in Seattle, Washington, it was launched in 2000 and is reported to be the third largest charitable foundation in the world, holding $ ...

committed $4 million to help Malala Fund launch the Education Champion Network to support education champions in developing countries. In 2017, Malala Fund significantly expanded investment projects that Newsweek described as, "education advocacy programs run by local people — the kind Yousafzai and her father led when they lived in

— and will disburse up to $10 million a year over the next decade." New grants included a project in

to support the recruitment and training of teachers to fill spots in the country's overcrowded classrooms and supporting local activists in Nigeria to campaign for increasing public education from 9 years to 12 years. In 2018,

Apple Inc. Apple Inc. is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, in Silicon Valley. It is best known for its consumer electronics, software, and services. Founded in 1976 as Apple Comput ...

partnered with Malala Fund to fund expansion to India and Latin America and provide technology, curriculum assistance and policy research with a goal of educating more than 100,000 girls. In addition, a connection will be established in Brazil with the Apple Developer Academy.

Programs

Education Champion Network

Malala Fund supports local advocates and programs to advance girls' secondary education around the world. The current priority countries for Malala Fund are

and

. One of the champions for Pakistan is

Gulalai Ismail Gulalai Ismail (; ; born 30 October 1986) is a Pakistani human rights activist from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. She is the chairperson of Aware Girls, a global ambassador for Humanists International, and a leading member of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movemen ...

, chairperson of Aware Girls an organisation with which

Yousafzai The Yusufzai or Yousafzai (, ), also referred to as the Esapzai (, ), or Yusufzai Afghans historically, are one of the largest tribes of Pashtuns. They are natively based in the northern part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa ( Malakand, Dir, Swat, Shangl ...

trained in 2011.

Research and advocacy

Malala, Ziauddin, Malala Fund staff, members of the Education Champion Network and young education activists participate in conferences and meet with political leaders to advocate for girls' education. The advocacy goals are to increase funding for girls' education and to remove the barriers keeping girls from school, such as

early marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative con ...

child labor Child labour is the exploitation of children through any form of work that interferes with their ability to attend regular school, or is mentally, physically, socially and morally harmful. Such exploitation is prohibited by legislation w ...

, conflict and

gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is in ...

. Malala Fund has conducted research on the impact of girls' secondary education in collaboration with

Brookings Institution The Brookings Institution, often stylized as Brookings, is an American think tank that conducts research and education in the social sciences, primarily in economics (and tax policy), metropolitan policy, governance, foreign policy, global econo ...

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

and

Results for Development Results for Development (R4D) is a global nonprofit strategy consulting organization. Regions and countries Results for Development is active in more than 55 countries. History Founded in 2008 by David de Ferranti, who served with the World Ban ...

. In June 2018, Malala Fund helped secure a $2.9 billion commitment for girls' education from G7 countries and the

Assembly

In July 2018, Malala Fund launched Assembly, a digital publication with stories by girls, for girls. Malala Fund won the 2020 Webby Award for Email Newsletter in the category Web.

In popular culture

The organization was featured in the 2015

documentary film A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...

, '' He Named Me Malala'', and Malala's autobiography, ''

I Am Malala ''I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and was Shot by the Taliban'' is an autobiographical book by Malala Yousafzai, co-written with Christina Lamb. It was published on 8 October 2013, by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in the ...

''.

References

External links

* {{Malala Yousafzai International educational charities Educational foundations based in the United States Youth empowerment organizations Foundations based in Washington, D.C. Organizations established in 2013 Malala Yousafzai