»» When 14-year old Amina Yusuf realised that her uncle was trying to convince her father that it was time for her to marry, she did everything in her power to persuade her parents otherwise and begged them to rather let her continue with her education. Fortunately for Amina, they agreed. This, however, is not the reality for most of the young girls in Zaria, Northern Nigeria. Indeed, this is not the reality for 130 million girls around the world who are not in school today. Early childhood marriages, poverty, war and mismanaged government funds play a huge role in depriving girls of an education. Instead of attending school, girls go out hawking to contribute to the household income or help their mothers look after their younger siblings. If they get married, their 13 or 14-year old bodies aren’t mature enough to safely sustain pregnancies, resulting in a huge increase in maternal mortality and morbidity rates.

Yet, by educating girls, the benefits swing the pendulum far in the other direction. Educating a girl makes a significant contribution to the wellbeing of not just her family, but also her entire country. It is a basic human right for all children, including girls, to have an education. An education protects girls from child labour, child marriages and, by implication, death during childbirth. When Malala Yousafzai was violently attacked by extremists for speaking out against the ban on female education in her country, it served as an even greater motivation to continue her campaign. She co-founded Malala Fund alongside her father to help girls stay in school. Malala Fund invests in education champions in communities and regions where most girls miss out on secondary education. These include Nigeria, Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and countries housing Syrian refugees, and they are working hard at extending their reach even further.