This Day of the Girl, Malala announces $75,000 in new grants to support education recovery after flooding in Pakistan.
Today on Day of the Girl, I find myself thinking about how much has changed and how much work remains to ensure every girl in Pakistan can access and complete 12 years of quality education.
When I was a girl growing up in Swat Valley, I was determined to break down the barriers to my education. Now, I see girls across Pakistan carrying that same determination to learn. But the challenges they face continue to mount.
On top of fighting for their basic right to education, so many girls in Pakistan face the added barriers of natural disasters: floods washing away their schools and droughts destroying their livelihoods. When these disasters strike, parents lose everything and girls pay the highest price as their education ends, they are married off, and the future they were building disappears.
More than six million girls remain out of secondary school in Pakistan. Girls in rural areas are disproportionately affected. With each flood and drought, the numbers grow.
In the aftermath of the floods, families struggling to survive often have no choice but to put their daughters' education on hold.
What gives me hope is that Pakistanis never stop fighting. Activists, educators, and local leaders continue working every day to support rights and resources for education. The government has taken important steps on climate adaptation and education recovery. These efforts must continue and intensify.
When floods hit earlier this year, Malala Fund announced emergency grants of $330,000 (PKR 93M) to work with communities and help girls keep learning. Today we are announcing an additional $75,000 (PKR 21M) and we will keep doing everything we can to support education recovery during crises.
For over a decade, Malala Fund has walked alongside Pakistani activists and girls. We have invested over $14 million (PKR 4 billion) to support people who understand their communities best and help countless girls enter the classroom. We will keep amplifying girls' voices, working on the policies and systems that keep girls in school, especially in the most marginalized communities.
Over the next five years, Malala Fund will continue investing in Pakistani girls and fighting for improved school infrastructure in rural areas and to reduce costs for families. A girl in a village deserves the same education as a girl anywhere else in Pakistan.
My message to policymakers and leaders is that climate, economic, and infrastructure policy must improve outcomes for girls. Budgeting and allocation must involve greater investment in education. Recovery must account for the needs of girls and their right to quality education. Civil society partners working on the frontlines deserve your support, and they have the solutions.
When I talk to Pakistani girls today, I see the same fire and hope that drove my journey of activism. Their spirit never breaks, they keep showing up and they keep fighting for a better future built on a foundation of solid education.
Malala Fund stands with them, ensuring their voices are heard, so every girl can learn freely and choose her own future.
