Education around the Globe
A grand total of 60 million young girls around the world today aren’t getting an education due to work, marrying at a young age, having to take on maternal roles, and just being denied the basic right to education. This is a serious issue because females deserve to be treated as equals. In order to have equal wages or basic rights in society, these women must first be educated. Females should not be stuck in the housewife stereotype no matter where they live in the world. If females can be educated globally, we are just one step closer to equality among men and women. Malala Yousafzai and the Malala Fund are taking action on this issue and are trying globally to abolish laws which prevent women from being educated.
In the article “Malala Yousafzai Biography” published by the editors of biography.com, the story of a young girl who fought for her right to education is shared. Malala (age 18) is an activist for the right to female education around the world. She has a strong passion about this topic because of personal experience with being denied the right to education. In 2008, the Taliban began to deny females the right to education in Malala’s hometown located in the Swat Valley. Malala believed in standing up for her rights, so she spoke out with a speech titled, “How Dare the Taliban Take Away my Right to Education?” This speech angered the Taliban, and they followed up with a death threat towards Malala. On October 12, 2009, Malala (age 14) was on her way home from school when a man boarded the bus asking where she was. She was exposed by the looks of her friends, and then the man shot her on the left side of her face. After the attack, Malala was flown to the Peshawar hospital. There, a portion of her skull was removed to treat the swelling of her brain. After many reconstructive surgeries, Malala continued to speak out about her beliefs. In 2014, Malala went on to earn a Nobel Peace Prize for her stance on the importance of female education.
The Malala Fund, founded in 2013, was created to fund Middle Eastern educational leaders and programs. This fund mainly donates to Pakistan, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, Kenya, and Syrian refugees. Malala herself started this fund with her father, Zaiuddin Yousafzai, after she was attacked by the Taliban for believing in her right to be educated. She expresses that every girl around the world should have the right to 12 free, safe years of education. The Malala Fund makes this possible for more and more girls everyday. Along with her fund, Malala is spreading the #notlost movement to give additional support to Syrian refugees who are not educated. To help support or raise awareness for the female education prevention issue, donations can be made to the Malala Fund on its website.
Today, all around the world, particularly in the Middle East, there are so many girls who are denied a free, safe education. Malala Yousafzai experienced this denial first handedly when the Taliban shot her in the face for taking a stand for female rights to 12 years of education. After this attack, Malala started the Malala Fund to increase the number of girls in Nigeria, Syria, Pakistan, Sierra Leone, and Kenya who have at least the basic 12 years of free and safe education. When donating to the Malala Fund or spreading the word about it, people are helping young girls get an education, a better job, and therefore a better life.
Works Cited
Biography.com Editors. "Malala Yousafzai Biography." Bio.com. A&E NetworksTelevision, n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.
"The Malala Fund." The Malala Fund. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2016.