Malala Fund

Hello. We are the Malala Fund. Our purpose is to help create a world where every single girl has the chance to learn and to lead. We were started in 2013 by a father and daughter team, Ziauddin Yousafzai and Malala Yousafzai. Our entire organization is built on a simple but powerful belief: that all girls, no matter where they are born, deserve to have 12 years of education that is completely free, totally safe, and of high quality. This means going to school shouldn’t cost their families money, they shouldn’t have to worry about their safety on the way to class or inside the classroom, and the lessons they learn should prepare them for a bright future. This is the dream we work toward every day.

Our organization is named for our co-founder, Malala, and her story is the reason we exist. When Malala was a young girl growing up in Pakistan, she saw that girls were not always given the same opportunities as boys to get an education. She believed this was wrong and decided to speak up about it. She bravely shared her thoughts, arguing for the right of every girl to go to school. Her voice became powerful, but it also put her in danger. In 2012, she was attacked for her courage and her beliefs. It was a terrible event meant to silence her forever. But she survived. Instead of giving up, Malala became even more determined to continue her fight. Her story of survival and bravery inspired millions of people all over the world. People saw her courage and wanted to help her cause. That global support is what led to the creation of our fund. Her personal fight became our global mission.

So, how do we work to make sure more girls get to go to school? We believe that the best people to create change in a community are the people who already live there. That’s why our main work is to find and support local activists and teachers in countries where it is hardest for girls to receive an education. We call this group of amazing people our Education Champion Network. We don't come in from the outside and tell them what to do. Instead, we provide them with funding and tools so they can do their important work more effectively. These local leaders are the true experts. They understand the specific problems their communities face. With our support, they work to change unfair laws that might prevent girls from attending school. They help build new schools in areas where there are none. They also work hard to challenge old beliefs and traditions that hold girls back from learning and reaching their full potential.

Our work takes us to many different parts of the world, because the barriers that keep girls out of school are not the same everywhere. We have partners in countries like Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Brazil, among others. The challenges girls face can be very different from one place to the next. In one region, the biggest problem might be that schools are simply too far away for girls to walk to safely. In another area, the schools might be nearby but are not safe places for them to learn. In other communities, families may be struggling with poverty, and girls are expected to work to help support their families instead of going to school. Because each place is unique, the solutions must be unique, too. We help our local partners identify the best and most effective solutions for the specific problems in their own towns and villages.

Our ultimate goal is to see a future where every girl completes all 12 years of her education, from primary school all the way through secondary school. We believe that this is not just about helping individual girls. When girls are educated, the positive effects spread throughout their entire community. Educated girls grow up to build stronger families, improve their local economies, and help create a more equal and peaceful world for everyone. This important work is far from over. Today, there are still more than 130 million girls around the world who are out of school. That is why we continue to speak to world leaders, urging them to make girls' education a top priority. And we continue to find and support our local champions, the heroes on the ground who are turning our shared dream into a reality, one girl at a time.