Malala Fund in Action (Post 4 of 5)

 When Malala Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin, founded Malala Fund in 2013, they dedicated the organization to championing every girl’s right to access and complete 12 years of education, enabling girls to learn, reach their full potential, and choose their own futures. To do this most effectively, Malala Fund chose to identify outstanding locally led, girl-centric organizations in regions with the highest barriers to education and serve as a catalyst for their work by issuing grants, amplifying advocacy work and creating a global ecosystem of education champions. After all, in-country leaders and advocates are the ones most familiar with the challenges facing their own communities and positioned to most effectively and creatively solve for those problems. 

Pakistan

As Malala’s homeland, Pakistan holds special significance to Malala Fund where more than seven million girls are out of secondary school. Intimate and lived familiarity with the barriers to girls’ education, combined with years of sustained work in the region, means their model is especially well-tuned to address systemic issues such as cultural norms, the quality of education, and access to school. They invest in organizations that offer solutions to navigate those challenges with finesse and cultural relevance, such as Innovate, Educate & Inspire Pakistan (IEI). 

Deep in Pakistan’s mountainous region of Gilgit-Baltistan, IEI has implemented an array of programs tailored to the unique challenges faced by students living in remote, low-income communities where long distances, high costs, and limited exposure to educational opportunities prevail. 

One of the ways IEI began addressing these concerns was by building libraries inside public schools to boost literacy efforts. However, when they noticed them being used as safe learning spaces where kids could self-explore, IEI evolved the program to deliberately create community-safe spaces called Saheli Circles. Here, young girls have the opportunity to receive guidance from female role models, find their voice in community-relevant conversations, and focus on their emotional and physical well-being. 

These days, however, safe spaces are not just for girls. IEI has expanded its safe spaces program to include spaces where teachers are trained to create a positive, safe classroom environment where family members can join their girls to strengthen parent-daughter relationships and support their pursuit of education. 

“Education is about belonging and liberation, grounded in our roots and shaping where we're going with care and courage,” says Marvi Soomro, founder and programs director of IEI.

IEI’s capacity to respond quickly and adapt to changing needs is another reminder of why supporting locally-led partners efficiently moves the needle toward a more equitable future.

Tanzania

Innovative, locally-led approaches are why a village in Pwani, outside of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, transformed into a raucous party last September. A small group of locals took to the streets, beating ngoma drums, tapping metal pans rhythmically, and enthusiastically chanting in unison. Within minutes, the group attracted so many neighbors that it swelled into a noisy parade of dancing revelers, kicking up dust as it proceeded through the village. By the time they returned to the starting point, everyone within earshot got the message that a film screening would start shortly.  

Malala Fund grantee, Media for Development and Advocacy (MEDEA), organized the joyous parade—a striking contrast to its typical programming that uses film to address serious topics like child marriage, sexual harassment, and other gender-based barriers to education. It turns out, the attention-grabbing parade is thoughtfully designed to boost attendance across all age groups by creating a fun, engaging atmosphere that appeals to youth and encourages women and girls to step away from household chores. It’s an intentional, culturally relevant approach that helps MEDEA’s message reach a broader audience through their community film screenings, a critical component of MEDEA’s advocacy.

All of the seats are filled by the time the sun sets, and Sheilla Kipuyo, MEDEA’s Communications and Partnership Lead, steps in front of the audience to introduce the night’s film—Mahakama ya Umma, Swahili for “public judgement.” The film centers around a girl’s pursuit of justice as she exposes her manager’s pattern of unwanted sexual advances, revealing that she is not alone and that other girls have also been affected by the boss’s behavior. 

Afterwards, the film prompts audience members to reflect on their own lived experiences as the event culminates in a group discussion, highlighting key moments from the movie and offering important lessons and takeaways. The conversation included topics like peer pressure to be sexually active at a young age, the fear of saying no when propositioned, challenging the idea that just because something was historically “normal” doesn’t necessarily mean it’s right, and how there are allies in unexpected places—they may not know what you are going through but if you seek help, they can support you.

“Film is like a mirror,” Sheilla says, emphasizing the power of film to drive societal change in Tanzania. “People are able to see another side of who they are through somebody else’s eyes.”

Elsewhere in Tanzania, another Malala Fund partner is also getting loud, but in a different way.

Swahili for “make noise,” Piga Kelele is one of Hope 4 Young Girls’s bold approaches to advocating for the empowerment of adolescent girls and young women.  

“We make noise to ensure people can hear our voice and can hear girls' voices,” says Executive Director Salama Kikudo. “We make noise until everybody is quiet. We make noise until everybody hears our message, especially for education. When we make a lot of noise, everybody will change.”

Salama and her team are active across five regions of Tanzania and work tirelessly to take their message—aka noise—directly to girls, parents, local leaders, politicians, religious leaders, and influential people. That way, everybody will hear their message loud and clear. 

From airing radio ads to lobbying government officials to allocate more resources for girls’ education, Kikudo’s creativity and understanding of the cultural landscape enable the organization to be a fierce, effective, and needle-moving advocate.

Brazil

Meanwhile, in Brazil, another Malala Fund partner is focused on addressing challenges within a specific, highly vulnerable population to overcome cultural barriers and advance social justice.

Odara is a Black-led organization dedicated to improving school completion outcomes for Black girls in the nine states of the Northeast of Brazil—a region shaped by deep social and economic inequalities. Activities like a group theater class educate and empower young girls by focusing on body expression, understanding and recognizing the body, and using it as an instrument for communication to overcome cultural barriers in their local and global communities. This unique approach builds confidence in their ability to navigate the world, find their voice, confront societal challenges, and advocate for themselves. In contexts like these, educating girls extends beyond the classroom.  

“We have to change the narrative from oppression to empowerment, from vulnerability to strength,” says Naira Leite, Odara’s Executive Coordinator. “And that happens through consistent encouragement, mentorship, and tools that allow these girls to succeed academically, socially, and emotionally.” 

By supporting Odara and its efforts to reach an especially at-risk population, Malala Fund is also working to improve equity and access to education across Brazil for all girls. 

“Each educated Black girl challenges the status quo,” Leite explains. “Each confident young woman challenges society’s expectations.”

Nigeria

“Do you want to fly?!” shouts a voice from within a circle of adolescent girls.

“I want to fly high, high, high! Mentor, teach me how to fly!” the girls respond in unison, their voices growing in confidence and strength as they echo off the walls of the classroom.

Later, they’ll sit down to discuss the life skill topic of the day: goal setting. 

Once again, safe space programming for adolescent girls is a key component of a Malala Fund grantee—this time in Zaria, Nigeria, with Centre for Girls’ Education (CGE). 

While the overall goal of addressing persistent systemic issues in small groups is the same as other Malala Fund partners, that’s where the similarities end. 

Each CGE safe space curriculum is entirely different, tailored to the individual community it serves. This ensures that the organization’s interventions are as relevant, meaningful, and impactful as possible—not a generic, one-size-fits-all curriculum developed by outsiders unfamiliar with the intricacies of the region. 

“When we want to create a safe space in any community, we work with the community leaders and religious leaders,” says Mama Habiba, Founder and Director of CGE. “We discuss the project, what the project is bringing in, and how we believe that the project will be able to support the entire community.”

From standing up to child marriage to providing supplemental education, working in tandem with communities to address their needs builds trust and buy-in, supercharging the organization’s efforts to eliminate barriers to education.  

“Education is everything,” Mama Habiba says. “If they are given the opportunity, the sky is not the limit; it is the starting point for every girl.”

Mama Habiba and her team at CGE demonstrate the core tenets of Malala Fund’s model as they work hyper-locally to rewrite what’s possible for girls in northern Nigeria, instilling them with opportunity, confidence, and hope.

Since Malala Fund’s inception just over a decade ago, they have provided over 400 life-changing grants to partners in target countries who are actively and effectively dismantling the obstacles standing in the way of an education for every girl. With their passion and local knowledge, these locally-led organizations are cutting deep to the root of the problem and using innovative techniques to take on the systems, practices, and policies unique to their communities.    

“Education is not just a right; education is a revolution.” Leite reminds us. “It is the way we reclaim power, dignity, and opportunity. And for me, seeing a girl who once doubted herself now standing tall, confident, and ready to pursue her dreams—that is the greatest reward we could ever ask for.”