Abuja: Malala Yousafzai, Co-founder of the Malala Fund, has announced that the organization is successfully promoting gender-responsive policies for girls in Nigeria through collaborations with local partners. The Nobel Laureate made this statement during a high-level stakeholder event held in Abuja, themed ‘Partners in Change: Shaping the Future of Girls’ Education Together.’
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Malala Yousafzai, along with her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, arrived in Nigeria to meet with the Malala Fund’s Board of Directors. Their visit is focused on advancing the fund’s priorities for girls’ education in Nigeria. The priorities include facilitating the return to school for married and pregnant girls, increasing educational financing, and using education as a means to end child marriage.
Malala emphasized the fund’s commitment to investing in local education activists in Nigeria, praising their efforts in securing gender-responsive policies. She noted that many of these activists are young women and girls who are actively leading the change. Malala expressed her determination to see every girl in Nigeria have access to quality education, advocating for 12 years of schooling for girls.
The fund’s work in Nigeria is critical, as nearly 5 million adolescent girls of junior secondary school age are currently out of school. Malala highlighted the importance of collaboration among stakeholders, including government officials, to implement these policies effectively and ensure proper financing.
Malala Fund’s Chief Executive in Nigeria, Nabila Aguele, shed light on the impact of its partnerships. In Kano, for example, Bridge Connect Africa is working on gender-responsive budgeting with the state government. Meanwhile, in Adamawa, a policy has been launched with technical assistance from another fund partner, focusing on community-led approaches to girls’ education.
The Malala Fund has invested over 8 million dollars in Nigerian partner organizations since 2014, aiming to remove barriers that keep girls out of school. Malala, along with her team, engaged with young girls and education champions in Nigeria to listen to their experiences and aspirations, reinforcing the fund’s commitment to making education accessible for all girls.