There are an estimated 130m girls worldwide who should be going to secondary school today, but they are not.
Tech giant Apple has been revealed as the Malala Fund’s first laureate partner to help achieve the goal of extending secondary-school education to 100,000 girls.
The Malala Fund champions every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
‘My dream is for every girl to choose her own future’
– MALALA YOUSAFZAI
Led by Nobel Peace Price winner Malala Yousafzai, the fund expects to double the number of grants awarded by its Gulmakai Network, and extend funding programmes to India and Latin America.
The fund has the goal of extending secondary-education opportunities to more than 100,000 girls worldwide.
Empowering girls to learn and lead without fear
“My dream is for every girl to choose her own future,” said Yousafzai.
“Through both their innovations and philanthropy, Apple has helped educate and empower people around the world. I am grateful that Apple knows the value of investing in girls and is joining Malala Fund in the fight to ensure all girls can learn and lead without fear.”
Apple CEO Tim Cook will join the Malala Fund’s leadership council, and Apple will help the fund to scale up by assisting with technology, curriculum and research into the policy changes needed to help girls everywhere attend school and complete their education.
“We believe that education is a great equalising force, and we share Malala Fund’s commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school,” said Cook. “Malala is a courageous advocate for equality. She’s one of the most inspiring figures of our time, and we are honoured to help her extend the important work she is doing to empower girls around the world.”
Since 2013, Malala Fund has been working in partnership with other organisations, the private sector and governments around the world to realise its goal.
The fund’s Gulmakai Network currently supports programmes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and Nigeria.
Apple CEO Tim Cook and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai visit with Lebanese and Syrian students in Beirut, Lebanon. Image: Apple
Yousafzai has been championing girls’ education since the age of 11, when the Taliban overran her hometown of Mingora, Pakistan, and threatened to destroy the schools.
On 9 October 2012, a gunman boarded her school bus, asked for her by name and shot her in the head.
Yousafzai underwent surgery in the UK and, since then, she has become a global figurehead in the fight for girls’ rights to education.
In 2014, Yousafzai became the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, an honour she shared that year with children’s rights activist Kailash Satyarthi.
