Malala Calls For Eight Days Of Military Spending Cuts To Fund Education

Oslo, July 7: As the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Pakistani rights activist Malala Yousafzai is all set to celebrate her 18th birthday on Sunday, July 12, the courageous girl on Monday called on world leaders to choose books over bullets and give every girl 12 years of free education.

Malala asserted that if world leaders want 12 years of quality education for their own children, it is also time to ensure it for the rest of the world’s children.

“Last year in Oslo I spoke of our historic opportunity to put an end to wasted potential and empty classrooms”.

Malala was shot in the head by Taliban militants three years ago because of her lobbying for the right of girls to education.

“We will not stop”.

The Malala Fund argues that traditional and non-traditional bilateral donors should commit to meeting a target of 0.7pc of Gross National Income (GNI) in Official Development Assistance (ODA) and increase the share of aid to basic and upper secondary education.

Governments must “start investing in books, education and hope, rather than in weapons, war and conflicts”, Malala said, reiterating that some 100 countries in May committed themselves to provide free primary and secondary education to all children by 2030.

The Oslo conference comes in preparation for a summit on financing education and other strategies to combat poverty in Ethiopia later this month and the United Nations General Assembly in September.

He said the countries will have to deliver on their promises for sustainable development.

According to Brown, about 59 million children worldwide are still out of primary school, while another 65 million do not get secondary education, while 500 million girls will not finish school.

“The good news is we have a plan to change course, by fully funding education for 12 years, starting with the hardest to reach”.