Pakistan, for example, never has allocated more than three percent of its
gross domestic product to education
in its 68-year history. By comparison,
Nepal dedicated almost five percent of
its gross domestic product (GDP) to
education last year, and Cuba about 13
percent.
Unless the world heeds Malala’s call
to invest in pencils and books rather
than bullets and bombs, we will remain
trapped in a vicious cycle, fighting the
by-products of illiteracy, ignorance,
and isolation.
“Let us remember: One book,
one pen, one child, and one
teacher can change the world.”
— Malala Yousafzai
The growing awareness that education, not
war, is the ticket to a better future in these
impoverished, conflict-ridden countries is
embodied by Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani
schoolgirl shot by the Taliban in 2012 in
retaliation for her work advocating for girls’
education. She now is 18 years old, received
the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize, and is headed
for Stanford University.
Her determination and articulation of the
dire need for girls’ access to education consistently inspires a global ]YY[