In 2025, the systems meant to protect girls are faltering. Global aid is in retreat. Gender rights are being rolled back. And the promise of 12 years of education for every girl, once a global commitment, is now at risk of becoming a forgotten goal.
For the last decade, Malala Fund has helped girls stay in school through war, displacement, pandemics and political upheaval. But in today’s fractured world, holding the line is no longer enough.
To protect the future of girls’ education, we have to change the systems that never truly included them by implementing the policies that exist and advancing those that still don’t.
That’s why our new strategy is designed not for short-term recovery, but for long-term resilience. We’re shifting from stopgaps to structural reform — from reaching girls today to securing their rights for generations to come.
Here’s how we’re protecting girls’ futures, not just their present:
1. We’re focused on laws, because that’s what lasts.
Over the next five years, we aim to contribute to 20 major policy reforms that advance girls’ right to secondary education. Our strategy pairs charitable investment with bold policy reform to make girls’ rights real and protected over time. That’s why we’re focused on reforms that give every girl a fair shot not just this year, but every year.
In Nigeria, we’re supporting efforts to pass protections for young mothers returning to school and to end child marriage. In Pakistan, we’re helping unlock government education budgets to reach millions more girls, especially in rural areas. These are long-term changes, not one-off interventions.
2. We’re funding movements that will outlast us.
Our grantmaking is backed by donors who share our belief that lasting change requires independent funding and bold, values-driven action.
Through our Education Champion Network, we’ll award $50 million in grants, including $40–45 million to civil society organizations in at least five countries. 20% of that funding will go directly to groups led by girls and young women, because girls aren’t just fighting for their education, they’re leading it, against all odds.
3. We’re targeting the roots — not just the symptoms.
There are still 122 million girls out of school. Not because they lack motivation, but because systems around them are designed to exclude.
That’s why we support campaigns to codify gender apartheid as a crime under international law because what’s happening in Afghanistan is a global warning, not a local anomaly. And we’re pushing for debt reform that could unlock $32 billion in new education financing, so governments have the resources to turn policy into reality.
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4. We’re building resilience for the next crisis, not just the current one.
Whether it’s war, climate disaster or political collapse, the next crisis is never far away. That’s why we mobilise fast, targeted grants to frontline organisations, in Gaza, in Lebanon, in Afghanistan, and beyond to keep girls learning when schools shut down and systems fail.
We don’t run programmes. We support those who do, especially those delivering alternative or digital education in places where girls are excluded from the classroom. Our mission is to protect girls’ right to learn, even in the hardest moments.
5. We’re scaling impact where girls face the greatest barriers.
We know where our strategy can have the greatest reach. Our work is designed to help create conditions where up to 34 million adolescent girls — in the hardest-hit regions — can access school, complete their education and shape their futures.
A strategy is just a piece of paper until it meets reality. That’s why we’re building a robust monitoring, evaluation and learning system to guide us. It will help us track progress toward our goals, spot gaps early and course-correct quickly when the context shifts — as it inevitably will.
In a time of deep instability, that kind of discipline isn’t just helpful. It’s essential. Because if we want to protect the future of girls’ education, we have to stay bold and stay honest about what’s working, what isn’t, and what girls truly need next.
Progress built on goodwill is fragile. But progress written into law, backed by budgets, and driven by those most affected — that’s what endures. That’s what we’re building. And that’s how we change the rules.
Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of Impakter.com — In the Cover Photo: Student supported by Malala Fund grantee, CODE in Nigeria. Cover Photo Credit: Malala Fund.
