Supporting education and activism on Malala Day
By Sarah Jackson
On her 16th birthday Malala Yousafzai will be leading the first youth takeover of the UN General Assembly.
Malala’s Day
Since surviving an attempted assassination by the Taliban last year, Malala has continued to act as a powerful advocate for girls’ rights around the world. In 2009 Malala began writing an anonymous blog for the BBC Urdu service about her life in Pakistan and the restrictions to girls’ education. Later her identity became known as she began making public appearances in local and international media. In October 2012 on her bus-ride home from school, she was shot in the head by the Taliban for promoting girls’ right to education.
The right to education
After her recovery Malala is continuing her studies in the UK and is once again advocating for the right to education. This week, she will join international youth leaders taking part in the UN Secretary-General’s Global Education First initiative, which seeks to get all girls and boys into education by 2015.
There are many different ways in which gender inequality prevents girls and women from fulfilling their potential at school and in higher education. From child marriage, Female Genital Mutilation and sexual violence to unequal caring and household responsibilities to direct discrimination in the classroom, in many parts of the world women and girls must fight daily for the right to learn. Our partners in Afghanistan, Zambia and Ethiopia are tackling the biggest barrier to girls’ education.
Backlash against women’s rights
While Malala has become an important advocate for equal access to education, her story also illustrates the wider challenges facing women and girl activists. The attack made against Malala has drawn attention to a worrying backlash against those fighting for and defending women’s and girls’ human rights all over the world.
From the assassination of officials in Afghanistan, to attacks on female protesters in Pakistan and Egypt and the harassment of female politicians in Kenya, women human rights defenders face enormous risks every day. In 2012 the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition produced a global report (PDF) giving many more examples.
Support women’s rights activists
These attacks reveal the importance of providing support for grassroots women’s rights movements and activists who should not be left to shoulder the risks of calling for change alone. Echoing Womankind’s own Leaders for Change (PDF) briefing, a recent report (PDF) by the International Development Committee recommended an increase in support and funding to small-scale women’s organisations campaigning for their rights.
On Friday 12 July, Womankind will join the Southbank Centre’s Malala Day to celebrate the achievements and bravery of Malala Yousafzai in her work defending women and girls’ human rights, and to wish her a very happy birthday.
Help us support more projects protecting girls’ right to education by making a donation today.
