TheCable

Malala Yousafzai, a Nobel laureate, will be visiting Nigeria on July 12 to advocate for more investments in girl-child education.

In a statement on Monday by the Malala fund press team, Yousafzai’s visit is to commemorate the 10th anniversary of her celebrated United Nations (UN) speech, and her birthday.

Yousafzai, a Pakistani activist, was shot in the head by Taliban militants enforcing a ban on girl-child education in 2012.

On July 12, 2013, she delivered a powerful speech at the UN to mark her 16th birthday.

In 2014, the UN named July 12 Malala Day, in honor of her advocacy and support for girl-child education across the world.

According to her press team, Yousafzai will be visiting Nigeria as the UN messenger of peace, to call for the amendment of education legislation in order to attain quality and accessible education for the girl-child.

“To mark the 10 year anniversary of her famous United Nations speech, Nobel laureate and Malala Fund co-founder, Malala Yousafzai will travel to Nigeria,” the statement reads.

“Malala will travel to Nigeria, in her capacity as UN messenger of peace, alongside the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina J. Mohammed. Malala’s father and Malala Fund co-founder Ziauddin Yousafzai will also join the trip.

“The group will visit secondary schools and meet with young women, activists and educators that Malala Fund supports, as well as key leaders in government whose support is critical to driving progress for girls’ education across Nigeria.

“During the visit, Malala will also co-host a special Malala Day celebration alongside the UN Deputy secretary-general with the participation of Nigerian government leaders, civil society representatives and young activists.

“Since 2014, Malala Fund has invested over $6.1M in partner organisations and their programmes across Nigeria.”