Bill after Malala

One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world. That is what Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai had famously said while addressing the United Nations on July 12, 2013. While Malala stepped out to become that one child to change the world, she sought support from many around the world to join her in her fight for the right of every child to receive an education. Malala’s cause for education, especially for girls, has since found support the world over. For instance, Malala Fund’s Education Champion Network has been supporting the work of educators and advocates and helping to bolster girls’ secondary education around the world.

The latest support for the Pakistani child rights activist, currently based in Britain, has come from US legislators. The US Congress has passed a bill named after Malala that expands the number of scholarships to women in Pakistan under a merit and needs-based programme being run by the US Agency for International Development, or USAID. The ‘Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act’ — that was passed by the House of Representatives in March 2020 — has been adopted by the US Senate on January 1, 2021. The bill requires the USAID to award at least half of scholarships to Pakistani women, from 2020 to 2022, across a range of academic disciplines and in accordance with existing eligibility criteria. More than 6,000 scholarships have already been awarded to young women since 2010 to receive higher education in Pakistan.

The bill, though yet to be signed by the US President into a law, comes in acknowledgment of Malala’s work for the cause of women education in particular which aims “for a world where every girl can learn and lead”. It also serves to strengthen efforts for women empowerment in Pakistan by improving and expanding women’s access to education.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 5^th, 2021.

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