August 29, 2025
ISLAMABAD – Nobel laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai has committed $3 million to funding efforts for the restoration of women’s rights and provision of education to young girls in Afghanistan. In a post shared to Instagram, she announced her welfare organisation, the Malala Fund, will be providing the money in the form of grants through its Afghanistan Initiative.
Highlighting the Afghan government’s ban on girls’ education, the activist wrote, “For the past four years, the Taliban has barred Afghan girls from school past grade six.” The post, which talked about supporting women leaders and human rights defenders, listed the following 10 organisations the fund is partnering with to “keep girls learning under Taliban rule,” and “defend their rights”.
- Education Bridge for Afghanistan: an organisation helping 10,000 Afghan girls gain digital literacy skills and high school qualifications while providing psychosocial support and mentorship.
- Defenders of Equality, Freedom and Advancement for Women: a group of Afghan women documenting the stories of girls and women in Afghanistan and pushing for global recognition of the gender apartheid in the country.
- Afghanistan Accountability Collective: an Afghan women-led organisation advocating to make gender apartheid a crime under international law.
- Centre for Dialogue and Progress — Geneva: a policy research forum working to hold the Taliban government accountable for human rights abuses.
- Rukhshana Media: a media organisation bringing the plight of Afghan women to the world stage with reporting in English, Farsi and Dari. They also work to train young female reporters.
- Artlords: a collective of overseas-Afghan artists highlighting the struggle for women’s rights in the country with murals.
- Women and Children Research and Advocacy Network: a group of activists in Canada and Afghanistan working for the codification of gender apartheid and pushing UN member states to advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan.
- Rawadari: An organisation working with victims of gender discrimination under the Taliban government to organise a forum in front of the Permanent Peoples’ Tribunal in Italy.
- Stanford University’s Program in Feminist, Gender and Sexuality Studies: the programme organised a symposium to advance the academic and legal understanding of gender apartheid, bringing together activists and academia in an effort to produce literature on the subject.
- Afghans for a Better Tomorrow: an advocacy group supporting Afghans in the United States and pushing the international community to adopt a framework on gender apartheid.
Yousafzai has been a vocal advocate for women’s education, especially in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where she is often seen as a divisive figure. Her fund has contributed to the promotion of women’s education globally, including in Africa. The activist spent her birthday with local schoolchildren in Tanzania this year.
The Taliban government in Afghanistan is also under increasing pressure over its treatment of the country’s women. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last month for Supreme Leader Haibatullah Akhundzada and chief justice Abdul Hakim Haqqani on charges of crimes against humanity. Many countries have refused to recognise the government — which has been in power for four years — owing to its dismal rights record.