Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act passed by US Congress

Recently U.S. Congress passed the ‘Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act’ which will promote the number of scholarships available to the Pakistani women to receive higher education under a merit-based programme.

Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act

It is a scholarship law of the constitution of the United States. The bill for the same was introduced by the 113th United States Congress on November 19, 2014. The act was passed in 2020 by the Senate and the United States House of Representatives. This act has been passed in order to allow American educational institutions to increase the number of higher education scholarships on the basis of programs related to merit and needs. The act was passed in March 2020. It was first partially enacted on January 1, 2021. The act is used to determine and address the scholarship programmes which are aimed at providing the educational funding for Pakistani women who wants to undertake the higher education anywhere in the country. The act will continue till 2022 under the Higher Education Commission.

Requirements of the Act

• S. Agency for International Development (USAID) would be required to brief Congress annually on the number of scholarships awarded under the programme.
• USAID to award at least 50% of scholarships under a Pakistan-based higher education scholarship programme involving Pakistani women
• The scholarships would be provided between the span of 2020 to 2022, across an extent of academic domains, in accordance with the eligibility criteria.
• The U.S. Development agency would consult with investors involved in the Pakistani private sector and Pakistani diaspora in the United States to improve and expand access to education programmes in Pakistan.

About USAID

• The United States Agency for International Development is an independent body of the United States government. It is primarily responsible for administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance on an international platform.
• Since 2010, the USAID has rewarded more than 6,000 scholarships for the higher education of Pakistani women.

About Malala Yousufzai

Malala is a teenage Pakistani girl who dreamt of catering to the educational needs of her country’s women while providing them a secure future. In 2008, Malala began on the journey to provide education for women and girls despite objections from the Pakistani Taliban. In 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Pakistani Taliban on her way home from school on the bus. The incident attracted international attention on women rights. On October 10, 2014, Malala shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi (Indian child rights activist) for her “struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education”.