In a keynote address at LUMS' online convocation ceremony, Malala, who recently graduated from Oxford, shared her struggle for women education in Pakistan. She said that her journey taught her that change does not occur on its own and requires one to step forward, speak out and do something.
Speaking about the state of education in Pakistan, she said over 20 million children aged 5-16 cannot go to school because of different hurdles: 58 per cent girls were out of school in Sindh, while in Balochistan the number is 78 per cent. According to Malala, funding the education sector is the most important investment Pakistan can make.
She also narrated her struggle for education as a teenager, a period between 2007 and 2009 when the Taliban in tribal districts and Swat started spreading their extremist ideology. They called for a ban on girls education, stopped women from going to market, and bombed more than 400 schools.
Addressing the graduating students, she said everyone needs to speak up for education and against gender bias. "At home, in a classroom and in wider society, social norms influence girls’ and boys’ perceptions of their lives and their futures. Social norms can change—and you can help them change by raising your voice for girls’ education in communities across the country,” she added.