WASHINGTON: The US-based Malala Fund has committed over US $1.5 million to support education for girls in Afghanistan aiming to keep schoolgirls learning in the country.
Pakistani education activist and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai founded the international, non-profit organization in 2013, that advocates for girls’ education worldwide.
In a statement, Malala Yousafzai said this week we are marking a dark anniversary as it has been 1000 days since the Taliban banned girls in Afghanistan from going to schools.
She said millions of Afghan women and girls are living under gender a system of gender apartheid which is a systematic operation, they cannot go to school, work or be part of public life.
The Nobel laureate added Afghan girls and women are fighting back against all odds by learning in secret and refusing to let the Taliban deny them their rights. ‘But they should not have to fight alone,” she said.
Brave girls of Afghanistan
The activist said the brave girls of Afghanistan deserve our solidarity and they deserve action. “Today Malala Fund is announcing another US $ 1.5 million in support to 13 organizations who are working on the front line to keep girls learning in Afghanistan,” she said.
She added the Fund would continue its campaign together with Afghan activists to codify gender apartheid in international law.
“Today, I am asking you to join us in demanding action from leaders. Lest say with one voice. We refuse to let the Taliban deprive grills of their future. We will never let gender apartheid be normalized. We stand in solidarity with Afghan girls,” she concluded.
On June 13, the 1,000th day passed since the Taliban placed a ban on girls’ education beyond the sixth grade. Later, the ban extended to universities, stopping female students from attending both private and state educational institutions across the country.
According to the UN, approximately 80 percent of school-age girls, which is over 2.5 million, and more than 100,000 female university students are barred from receiving education in Afghanistan.
