Latest news with #MalalaFund
Forbes
30-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Malala Fund Responds To Rollbacks On Girls' Rights With New $50 Million Strategy
Malala Yousafzai visits Dabab, Kenya on her birthday in 2016. Since 2013, the Malala Fund has distributed $65 million through more than 400 grants across 27 countries. Now, as gender equality and girls' rights backslide around the world, the fund announced last week that it is accelerating its impact and committing to distribute another $50 million over the next five years. Founded by Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, the Malala Fund's mission is to ensure all girls can access and complete 12 years of education. At present, more than 122 million girls around the world are out of school—a number that Malala Fund CEO Lena Alfi fears will only grow in the wake of multiple crises still unfolding today. "In Afghanistan, girls are banned outright from schools past grade six," says Alfi. 'In Sub-Saharan Africa, numbers are climbing as governments walk away from their promises. The [research] hasn't caught up, but when there are conflicts in places like Gaza, where schools aren't operational, you can assume girls aren't in school.' The magnitude of the problem sparked a new strategic plan for the fund and what Alfi describes as a bold restructuring, one that's prioritizing grantmaking more than ever before. 'We're committing anywhere from 45 to 50% of our budget to grantmaking to moving money directly into the hands of education leaders in the countries where we work,' says Alfi. 'That's a pretty significant shift and it's really putting the trust in our partners—and the resources in their hands—to be able to advocate for the changes that they are trying to make in their communities.' The fund's existing grantee portfolio reflects a broad range of issue areas and strategies. In Afghanistan, one grantee group is delivering offline education and advocating for girls' right to learn under Taliban restrictions. In Nigeria, another is advocating for delayed marriage for girls' education. In Pakistan, a think tank is driving policy advocacy on education finance, gender equity and public sector reform. Sehrish Farooq, the Sindh Provincial Head for Malala Fund partner Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi (ITA), ... More joins a classroom of girls in Karachi | 2025 The new grant funding announcement comes at a time when the landscape of foreign aid is seeing seismic changes. In the U.S., the Trump administration has frozen billions in foreign aid assistance and cut 90% of the U.S. Agency for International Development's foreign aid contracts as part of a larger plan to cut international development spending down by $60 billion. The U.K., another global leader in foreign aid, announced in February that it would cut its aid budget from 0.5% of gross national income to 0.3%. Organizations dedicated to girls' education in the global south are already feeling the strain. "There are a lot more partners who need funding and support," says Alfi. 'We see our grantmaking commitment as more important than ever because we can, at least, move money into places where it isn't flowing anymore.' Recent crises have deepened the need, but the issue goes back much further. Even before the Trump administration's cuts, women's and girls' organizations were receiving less than 2% of all charitable giving in the U.S. Across the globe, failing to uphold a girl's right to education has measurable ripple effects across entire communities. Child marriage rates rise, health outcomes worsen, women disappear from the workforce and economies weaken. According to the World Bank, when girls cannot complete secondary school, the global economy misses out on $15-30 trillion in productivity earnings each year. One of the aims of the Malala Fund's grantmaking expansion is to reach more grassroots organizations that are closest to the girls who need the most support. Additionally, it is reserving at least 20% of its total grant funding for groups led by girls and young women. "We've come across really incredible girls with brilliant ideas and smaller initiatives that they want to scale," says Alfi. 'We really want to ensure that part of our grantmaking is investing in them." Malala Yousafzai visits Malala Fund partner Ana Paula and young women from Indigenous communities on ... More her trip to Brazil in May 2023 As an advocacy-forward organization that focuses less on specific services and more on broader societal change, Alfi says the fund specifically seeks to back groups that are challenging systems and pushing for reforms on the ground. Currently, the fund is focusing the majority of its grantmaking work across six focus countries where girls face the biggest education barriers: Afghanistan, Brazil, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan and Tanzania. Recognizing the possibility of unforeseen crises—new global health emergencies, conflicts, natural disasters, regime changes and policy shifts—the fund is reserving $5 million for crisis response wherever the need arises. Despite the fast-moving nature of existing disasters—Gaza, for instance, is a key emergency focus area at the moment—Alfi says her time with the fund has shown that there are always people ready and willing to step up. "In the U.S., we are dealing with a massive phase of uncertainty," says Alfi. But, she continues, "The partners that we work with, the countries that we work with, deal with uncertainty all the time. They're not afraid. They don't back down. They don't quiet down. It's on us to now, more than ever, take the lead of our grantees and our girls."
The Star
22-04-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Exiled Afghan women visit SA in bid to end gender violence
A delegation of exiled Afghan women is in South Africa for a week-long visit, on a mission to share their stories, and to create a knowledge and insights-sharing platform in their search for solidarity to end gender apartheid. Malala Fund, in partnership with End Gender Apartheid Campaign, the Civic Engagement Project and Lawyers for Human Rights, has hosted a series of roundtable dialogues and discussions with some of South Africa's leading human rights activists as well as members of the judiciary. At a roundtable hosted at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, panellists included Professor Thuli Madonsela, Professor Farid Esack, Judge Margie Victor, and three Afghan women who are part of the delegation. Escaping a forced child marriage. Suffering a broken nose for lifting a Burka in public. Shutting down beauty salons and schools. Keeping women and girl children 'in line' with physical punishment. These were not sub-plots of a movie; instead, the horrifying truth of the lived experiences of the Afghan women in the room. An activist and human rights defender for nearly 30 years, *Horia said she believes the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan is a silent tsunami: 'This is not our religion, this is not Islam, this is the Taliban. In Afghanistan, women who are found guilty of 'moral crimes' are subjected to 'honour violence', in the form of public beatings, torture and imprisonment. Horia said that the delegation is in South Africa to draw on the experience of women who were subjugated under apartheid, and to learn more about the role the judiciary, civil society and the media could play in their fight for freedom. Commenting on the voice of the judiciary, Judge Shehnaz Meer remarked: 'Judges generally don't have conversations. We talk through our judgements, in so doing be both apply and interpret the law, and it is open for us to do so in a humane manner and in a way that advances humankind. In a society like Afghanistan, where gender apartheid is legislated, there are no raw materials available for judges to converse about human rights through their judgments. This is reminiscent of a period in South Africa, post-apartheid, where judges had very few raw materials and were, by and large, state sympathisers.' Meer went on to describe what she refers to as 'the activist judge', who is mindful of respecting the dignity of women in court, not shying away from intervening to protect their dignity in the case of gender-based violence or other. She also said that the activist judge does not preside as a silent arbiter, and ensures this standard is upheld at all times, without fear, favour or prejudice. 'This is the judicial voice that must be brought to bear in discourse on global gender apartheid. If the blueprint of judges in this country can be applied internationally, then judges would lend their voices in a meaningful and productive way to end the scourge that has resulted in women in Afghanistan being excluded from society and rendered invisible, in the workplace, education and (barred from) operating as human beings in society.' Storyteller and activist *Gaisu said: 'The stories I've been collecting, women of Afghanistan as a grassroots movement have come together globally to unite, to use 'Gender Apartheid' as a tool or a framework for us, and serve as a reflection of what's happening in our country.' Gaisu referenced the story of women in Afghanistan about the clothing she is required to wear, a black burka: 'What once felt elegant, now feels suffocating to me'. Another woman shared with Gauri that her life is marked by 'There is no laughter, I'm just trying to survive'. Her collection of stories offers a vivid picture of Taliban oppression, which arguably, mutilates the voices and the lives of women in her country. Professor Thuli Madonsela says she has seen just how unsustainable injustice is: 'Ubuntu teaches us about our interconnectedness. It doesn't matter where you are, injustice catches up with you. So what is happening in Afghanistan will happen in another country, and another. What we tolerate, we are indirectly condoning.' The delegation visited other countries before this trip to South Africa, where they were asked similar questions: 'What is South Africa saying about gender apartheid? Do you have their support?' While the acceptance and universal adoption of 'gender apartheid' remains a subject for discussion and review, the Afghan women who participated in this exploratory visit to South Africa are clear: 'We want our stories to be told. We want to be heard. We want our mothers, sisters, and daughters to live in a free society that no longer oppresses or silences them.' Horia offered the first roundtable food for a little more than thought: 'We will remember the words of our enemies. We will remember the silence of our friends'. Diane Naidoo is a freelance writer with 30 years of experience in PR and communications. She lends her voice to stories about social impact, climate action, and sustainability. While she led the advocacy and lobbying campaign for renewables in South Africa in 2010, she is also an avid cricket fan, working on the IPL and SA20, as she believes in the transformative and unifying power of sport. *Full names of the Afghan delegation are not used to protect the identities of the women and their families who still live in Afghanistan.
IOL News
22-04-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Exiled Afghan women visit SA in bid to end gender violence
A delegation of exiled Afghan women is in South Africa for a week-long visit, on a mission to share their stories, and to create a knowledge and insights-sharing platform in their search for solidarity to end gender apartheid. Malala Fund, in partnership with End Gender Apartheid Campaign, the Civic Engagement Project and Lawyers for Human Rights, has hosted a series of roundtable dialogues and discussions with some of South Africa's leading human rights activists as well as members of the judiciary. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ At a roundtable hosted at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg, panellists included Professor Thuli Madonsela, Professor Farid Esack, Judge Margie Victor, and three Afghan women who are part of the delegation. Escaping a forced child marriage. Suffering a broken nose for lifting a Burka in public. Shutting down beauty salons and schools. Keeping women and girl children 'in line' with physical punishment. These were not sub-plots of a movie; instead, the horrifying truth of the lived experiences of the Afghan women in the room. An activist and human rights defender for nearly 30 years, *Horia said she believes the Taliban's rule in Afghanistan is a silent tsunami: 'This is not our religion, this is not Islam, this is the Taliban. In Afghanistan, women who are found guilty of 'moral crimes' are subjected to 'honour violence', in the form of public beatings, torture and imprisonment. Horia said that the delegation is in South Africa to draw on the experience of women who were subjugated under apartheid, and to learn more about the role the judiciary, civil society and the media could play in their fight for freedom. Commenting on the voice of the judiciary, Judge Shehnaz Meer remarked: 'Judges generally don't have conversations. We talk through our judgements, in so doing be both apply and interpret the law, and it is open for us to do so in a humane manner and in a way that advances humankind. In a society like Afghanistan, where gender apartheid is legislated, there are no raw materials available for judges to converse about human rights through their judgments. This is reminiscent of a period in South Africa, post-apartheid, where judges had very few raw materials and were, by and large, state sympathisers.' Meer went on to describe what she refers to as 'the activist judge', who is mindful of respecting the dignity of women in court, not shying away from intervening to protect their dignity in the case of gender-based violence or other. She also said that the activist judge does not preside as a silent arbiter, and ensures this standard is upheld at all times, without fear, favour or prejudice. 'This is the judicial voice that must be brought to bear in discourse on global gender apartheid. If the blueprint of judges in this country can be applied internationally, then judges would lend their voices in a meaningful and productive way to end the scourge that has resulted in women in Afghanistan being excluded from society and rendered invisible, in the workplace, education and (barred from) operating as human beings in society.' Storyteller and activist *Gaisu said: 'The stories I've been collecting, women of Afghanistan as a grassroots movement have come together globally to unite, to use 'Gender Apartheid' as a tool or a framework for us, and serve as a reflection of what's happening in our country.' Gaisu referenced the story of women in Afghanistan about the clothing she is required to wear, a black burka: 'What once felt elegant, now feels suffocating to me'. Another woman shared with Gauri that her life is marked by 'There is no laughter, I'm just trying to survive'. Her collection of stories offers a vivid picture of Taliban oppression, which arguably, mutilates the voices and the lives of women in her country. Professor Thuli Madonsela says she has seen just how unsustainable injustice is: 'Ubuntu teaches us about our interconnectedness. It doesn't matter where you are, injustice catches up with you. So what is happening in Afghanistan will happen in another country, and another. What we tolerate, we are indirectly condoning.' The delegation visited other countries before this trip to South Africa, where they were asked similar questions: 'What is South Africa saying about gender apartheid? Do you have their support?' While the acceptance and universal adoption of 'gender apartheid' remains a subject for discussion and review, the Afghan women who participated in this exploratory visit to South Africa are clear: 'We want our stories to be told. We want to be heard. We want our mothers, sisters, and daughters to live in a free society that no longer oppresses or silences them.' Horia offered the first roundtable food for a little more than thought: 'We will remember the words of our enemies. We will remember the silence of our friends'. Diane Naidoo is a freelance writer with 30 years of experience in PR and communications. She lends her voice to stories about social impact, climate action, and sustainability. While she led the advocacy and lobbying campaign for renewables in South Africa in 2010, she is also an avid cricket fan, working on the IPL and SA20, as she believes in the transformative and unifying power of sport.
CNN
07-03-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Malala Yousafzai returns to Pakistan hometown for first time since she was shot
Malala Yousafzai has returned to her hometown in Pakistan, 13 years after she was shot in the head by the Taliban. The 27-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner shared a picture of herself in the stunning landscape of northern Pakistan on social media, saying it was the first time she had been back there since she was brutally attacked at just 15 years old. She wrote: 'As a child, I spent every holiday in Shangla, Pakistan, playing by the river and sharing meals with my extended family. It was such a joy for me to return there today – after 13 long years – to be surrounded by the mountains, dip my hands in the cold river and laugh with my beloved cousins. This place is very dear to my heart and I hope to return again and again.' In October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban while riding a bus home from school. In the days that followed the shocking attack, the teenager was airlifted to hospital in Birmingham, England for life-saving surgery. She and her family settled in Britain, where she went on to graduate from Oxford University. She has since devoted her working life to campaigning for educational rights for girls and women around the world under the umbrella of the international non-profit organization the Malala Fund. A police official told CNN that Yousafzai was accompanied on the emotional visit – close to where she was shot – by members of her immediate family. Umar Rehman, stationed in Shangla, told CNN: 'Malala Yousafzai arrived in Shahpur, Shangla, by helicopter for a short visit, accompanied by her father, husband, and brother. She met with close relatives before visiting the Shangla Girls' High School and College, which was built with support from the Malala Fund. 'At the college, she addressed the students during a special event. She then visited her grandmother's grave in the family cemetery. After spending about two and a half hours in Shangla, Malala Yousafzai departed for Islamabad via helicopter. Strict security arrangements were in place throughout her visit.' In her post on Wednesday, Yousafzai went on to reference the ongoing instability in her country of birth. She wrote: 'I pray for peace in every corner of our beautiful country. The recent attacks, including in Bannu yesterday, are heartbreaking. I am sending my condolences to the victims and their families and offer my prayers for the safety of every person in my homeland.' She was referring to an attack earlier this week in Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in which at least 12 people were killed. A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern area of the country in which two suicide bombers breached a wall at a military base, before other attackers stormed the compound.
Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Malala Yousafzai returns to Pakistan hometown for first time since she was shot
Malala Yousafzai has returned to her hometown in Pakistan, 13 years after she was shot in the head by the Taliban. The 27-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner shared a picture of herself in the stunning landscape of northern Pakistan on social media, saying it was the first time she had been back there since she was brutally attacked at just 15 years old. She wrote: 'As a child, I spent every holiday in Shangla, Pakistan, playing by the river and sharing meals with my extended family. It was such a joy for me to return there today – after 13 long years – to be surrounded by the mountains, dip my hands in the cold river and laugh with my beloved cousins. This place is very dear to my heart and I hope to return again and again.' In October 2012, Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban while riding a bus home from school. In the days that followed the shocking attack, the teenager was airlifted to hospital in Birmingham, England for life-saving surgery. She and her family settled in Britain, where she went on to graduate from Oxford University. She has since devoted her working life to campaigning for educational rights for girls and women around the world under the umbrella of the international non-profit organization the Malala Fund. A police official told CNN that Yousafzai was accompanied on the emotional visit – close to where she was shot – by members of her immediate family. Umar Rehman, stationed in Shangla, told CNN: 'Malala Yousafzai arrived in Shahpur, Shangla, by helicopter for a short visit, accompanied by her father, husband, and brother. She met with close relatives before visiting the Shangla Girls' High School and College, which was built with support from the Malala Fund. 'At the college, she addressed the students during a special event. She then visited her grandmother's grave in the family cemetery. After spending about two and a half hours in Shangla, Malala Yousafzai departed for Islamabad via helicopter. Strict security arrangements were in place throughout her visit.' In her post on Wednesday, Yousafzai went on to reference the ongoing instability in her country of birth. She wrote: 'I pray for peace in every corner of our beautiful country. The recent attacks, including in Bannu yesterday, are heartbreaking. I am sending my condolences to the victims and their families and offer my prayers for the safety of every person in my homeland.' She was referring to an attack earlier this week in Bannu in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, in which at least 12 people were killed. A group affiliated with the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in the northwestern area of the country in which two suicide bombers breached a wall at a military base, before other attackers stormed the compound.
