Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai took the occasion of her 18th birthday Saturday to ask world leaders to stop “failing the Syrian people.”
Yousafzai spent her birthday near the Syrian border in Lebanon overseeing the opening of the Malala Yousafzai All-Girls School, aimed at providing access to education for more than 200 Syrian refugee girls.
“I am honored to mark my 18th birthday with the brave and inspiring girls of Syria,” Yousafzai said in a statement. “On this day, I have a message for the leaders of this country, this region and the world–you are failing the Syrian people, especially Syria’s children. This is a heartbreaking tragedy–the world’s worst refugee crisis in decades.”
The Malala Fund also announced a grant of $250,000 toward UNICEF and UNHCR efforts to meet funding shortfalls for girls’ schools in a Jordanian refugee camp.
Get The Brief. Sign up to receive the top stories you need to know right now.
- Essay: The Tyre Nichols Videos Demand Solemnity, Not Sensationalism
- For People With Disabilities, Losing Abortion Access Can Be a Matter of Life or Death
- Inside the Stealth Efforts to Smuggle Starlink Internet Into Iran
- Natasha Lyonne on Poker Face and Creating Characters Who Subvert Leading-Lady Tropes
- How to Help the Victims and Community After the Monterey Park Shooting
- Why Grocery Staples Are So Expensive Right Now
- Quantum Computers Could Solve Countless Problems—and Create a Lot of New Ones
- Where to Watch All of the 2023 Oscar Nominees
- How to Be Mindful if You Hate Meditating
