09 Oct The International Day of the Girl

Celebrating an Unstoppable Hero – Malala Yousafzai

Today is the International Day of the Girl…but it’s not just a day…it’s a world-wide revolution! There are a billion reasons why we need the Day of the Girl, here are just a few:

  • Over 35 million girls remain out of school around the world.
  • By 2015, females will make up 64% of the world’s illiterate (adult) population.
  • Only 30% of girls around the world are enrolled in secondary school.
  • One in seven girls in developing countries is married off before age 15.

Today we are joining with millions across the globe to help raise awareness about the issue of gender inequality and to provide an education to every child – boy or girl!

We also want to share the story of ONE girl, Malala Yousafzai, who inspires us every day with her courage and determination. She is our Unstoppable hero.

Malala is a Pakistani girl who, at the age of 11, stood up to the Taliban to defend the rights of girls to attend school – which is prohibited in Pakistan and believed to be “immoral” by the Taliban.

Malala on international day of the girl

 

Malala’s father however, disagreed with the Taliban, and believed that girls deserve the same opportunity to receive an education as boys and started a school that his daughter could attend.

To Malala and her father, education is as precious as a diamond. In a country where girls are starving for an education, Malala soon became a hero to girls everywhere who dreamt of attending school.

Meanwhile, the Taliban threatened to kill any girl who attempted to go to school. Schools for girls were banned, and bombed.

But Malala and her father refused to accept the mandates of the Taliban. Malala decided she had two options: she could remain silent about her beliefs and be killed by the Taliban, or she could speak out about her beliefs in order to help other girls and be killed.

Malala chose the 2nd option.

Months later, a Taliban gunman boarded the bus Malala was taking home from school, and to silence her, he shot her in the head.

Malala survived.

And in direct contrast to what the gunman had intended, this unspeakable act of violence gave Malala a stronger voice than she ever had before!

Malala continues to speak out and has inspired hundreds of thousands of young girls around the world to stand up for their right to go to school. Their voices are now being heard by world leaders.

In July of 2014, Malala visited some of the communities and primary schools we support in Kenya. She met with girls attending the Oleleshwa Secondary School – one of the only two high schools for girls in the entire region. Both are supported by the Unstoppable Foundation.

 

Malala Yousafzai & girls from Oleleshwa Secondary School

All of these girls experienced numerous obstacles on their path to an education –extreme poverty, gender discrimination, threat of early marriage, child labor, and and yet they are all in school and committed to completing their education and to building a future for themselves, for their family and for their country.

On this Day of the Girl, Malala Yousafzai, like the girls at Oleleshwa and every girl who is standing up for her right to go to school, is our Hero!

If you’d like to become a hero (like Malala!), and help us provide an education to girls in our Unstoppable communities, click here and make a contribution today.

Supporting the Unstoppable Foundation means you are investing in tomorrow’s heroes!

Join us in our mission to educate every child!  We are Unstoppable!

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