Our mission
Malala Fund champions 12 years of safe, free, quality education for every girl.
What we do
More than 130 million girls are out of school today. Here’s how we’re breaking down the barriers that hold girls back.
We build networks of education advocates.
Through our Education Champion Network, we invest in local educators and activists — the people who best understand girls in their communities — in regions where the most girls are missing out on secondary school. We leverage their collective power to create broader change and make it easier for all girls to learn.
We advocate to hold leaders accountable.
We advocate — at local, national and international levels — for resources and policy changes needed to give every girl a secondary education. The girls we serve have high goals for themselves — and we have high expectations for leaders who can help them.
We help develop the next generation of young leaders.
Our Girl Activist Programme gives girls the tools they need to advocate for education and equality in their communities and a platform for the world to hear their voices. We believe girls should speak for themselves and tell leaders what they need to learn and achieve their potential.
Why girls’ education?
Secondary education for girls can transform communities, countries and our world. It is an investment in economic growth, a healthier workforce, lasting peace and the future of our planet.
Girls’ education strengthens economies and creates jobs.
Millions of educated girls means more working women with the potential to add up to $12 trillion to global growth.
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.
Communities are more stable and can recover faster after conflict when girls are educated.
When a country gives all its children secondary education, it cuts its risk of war in half. Education is vital for security around the world because extremism grows alongside inequality.
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.
Where we Work
Malala Fund invests in educators and activists fighting for girls’ education in countries where they are most likely to be out of school.
60%
There are 3.7 million out-of-school children in Afghanistan — 60% are girls. (UNICEF)
42%
Most girls in rural Bangladesh dropout of school after primary school, with dropout rates at nearly 42 percent. (UNICEF)
Our co-founders
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai is co-founder and board member of Malala Fund. Malala began her campaign for education at age 11 when she anonymously blogged for the BBC about life under the Taliban in Pakistan’s Swat Valley. Inspired by her father’s activism, Malala soon began advocating publicly for girls’ education — attracting international media attention and awards.
At age 15, she was shot by the Taliban for speaking out. Malala recovered in the United Kingdom and continued her fight for girls. In 2013 she founded Malala Fund with her father, Ziauddin. A year later, Malala received the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of her efforts to see every girl complete 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
Malala graduated from Oxford University with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics.
Ziauddin Yousafzai
Ziauddin Yousafzai is a co-founder and board member of Malala Fund and Malala’s father. For many years, Ziauddin served as a teacher and school administrator in his home country of Pakistan.
When the Taliban invaded their home in Swat Valley, Ziauddin peacefully resisted their efforts to limit personal freedoms. Speaking out put Ziauddin at risk, but he feared remaining silent would be far worse. Inspired by her father’s example, Malala began publicly campaigning for girls to go to school.
In October 2009, The New York Times filmed a short documentary about Ziauddin and Malala’s fight to protect girls’ education in Swat. Due to her increased prominence, Malala was shot in the head by the Taliban two years later. Malala survived and was transported to the United Kingdom for treatment. Ziauddin, his wife, Toor Pekai and their two sons joined Malala in Birmingham.
Determined to continue their campaign, Ziauddin and Malala founded Malala Fund in 2013. Together they champion every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.
