by Savannah Wallace

Women’s education transforms from a seemingly black and white issue into a kaleidoscope of colors with the Malala Fund. What originally appears to be an issue from a world far removed from the deceptive warmth and safety of the West becomes an affair that extends to the far corners of the Earth, an outreach akin to that of Malala herself.

The phenomenon of the Malala Fund did not just miraculously occur; it participates in a multitude of societal spheres in order to achieve its ambitious and incredible goal of each and every girl completing 12 years of safe, quality education. These spheres are highlighted by 3 impactful words: advocate, invest, and amplify.

Why is advocating for women’s education necessary? Muslim Chaplain for Georgetown University Imam Hendi shed some much-needed light on this query during NAIMUN LIV’s Global Issues Panel on Friday afternoon proclaiming with emotional gusto, “When I am an advocate for women’s issues, I become an advocate for …” He proceeded to name a variety of global issues in the realm of politics, economics, and what is perhaps most important, happiness. He spoke specifically on the overwhelming happiness that his wife has given him as a partner who intellectually challenges him. His enrapturing dialogue encapsulated just one of the numerous benefits that advocating for women’s education can provide for the world, even more human beings who challenge others to become better people.

Advocacy is already becoming more common as demonstrated by our world’s most esteemed diplomats in September 2015 at the United Nations, where they committed to the delivery of free quality education for each and every child by 2030. Founder of the Malala Fund, the incredible Malala Yousafzai declared, “Leaders of the 21st Century must deliver on their promises to invest in the future and start investing in books, education and hope, rather than in weapons, war and conflicts.” Indeed they must, and all of humankind should act as advocates and let our leaders know that this is not a global issue to be pushed aside or forgotten. 130 million girls worldwide are currently out of school, according to Film Campaign Manager at Malala Fund Gretel Truong. This fact should bother everyone, whether it is constantly on your mind or buried underneath the laundry piles of thoughts in your brain. It should inspire everyone to write eloquent letters, make posters, contact the media, and whatever else is required in order to take this movement to even further heights than it has already climbed to.

Why is investing in women’s education necessary? The Malala Fund estimates that the funding vital in order to allow girls worldwide to obtain 12 years of free, quality education is at a current shortfall of around 39 billion USD per year. Though this amount may seem astronomical to many, the Malala Fund estimates that amount to be equivalent to only eights days of global military spending. World leaders treat the funding of women’s education as if it were not imperative, though it is mandatory.

The Malala fund asks – no, demands – that national governments reserve at least 20% of their spending budgets on education, that donor countries increase their aid by at least 0.7% of their Gross National Income, and that donor partners increase their funding to the Global Partnership for Education. After all, as Imam Hendi asked delegates of NAIMUN LIV yesterday, “If not now, when? If not this issue, which one?”

However, the Malala Fund is not just reminding global leaders of their unavoidable duty to fund women’s education, they are taking action themselves. They are making grants to reduce barriers for secondary schooling for girls in Pakistan. They are creating alternative learning programs for girls whose circumstances would normally prevent them from taking advantage of educational opportunities in Nigeria. One of their highest priorities is improving access to quality education for Syrian refugees. Additionally, they are investing in secondary education and information and communication technology training programs, so that women from socioeconomically disadvantageous backgrounds may be prepared for 21st Century jobs. They did not ask what the right time would be to launch these programs, they just fearlessly started their noble endeavors.

Why is amplifying women’s voices for education necessary? Girls around the worldwide must be encouraged to voice their needs for education, for nothing is more powerful than hearing the needs of those in need from the needy themselves. Gretel Truong briefly mentioned this concept in yesterday’s panel when she spoke of the fact that few Syrian refugees are able to speak at panels and conferences dedicated to the funding of Syrian refugee aid programs.

In India, 4 million girls are out-of-school, the highest number of any nation across the globe. Indian girls face a number of barriers to receive a quality education including the possibility of early marriage, safety concerns, the fact that boys receive preference for education opportunities over girls and an increasing variety of other reasons. The Malala Fund hosted workshops speaking of Malala’s story, and inspired girls to launch their own campaign for proper education. As a result of their advocacy for themselves, more than a whopping 12,000 Indian villagers regularly discuss the importance of girl’s education and hundreds more Indian girls attend school.

Now is the time when we must take all cues that the Malala Fund has offered us and bring our own color to the multilateral issue of women’s education. Do not simply retweet an article, sign change.org petitions, or follow the Malala Fund on Instagram; advocate, invest, and amplify.