Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai has announced a new graduate scholarship for Palestinian students as part of her ongoing work with the Oxford Pakistan Programme, the Refugee Academic Futures Programmes, and Malala Fund.
“This new scholarship will aim to ease financial obstacles for Palestinian students who aspire to study at Oxford; the first recipient of this scholarship will join this October,” she said in a series of social media posts on X on Friday.
In the recent past, several people have criticised her for not speaking against Israeli strikes in Gaza.
In an interview with Vogue, she reiterated her call for a ceasefire in Gaza as Israel continues to pound the occupied strip and take the lives of thousands of innocent people.
The situation became intense after footage came from Rafah last week, where Israeli strike killed more than 40 people, inciting children.
“We’ve all seen examples of young people in Gaza documenting their lives in real-time and calling the world to action. This initiative is not just a scholarship; it is a signal of our solidarity to these young Palestinians, whose voices and demands will continue to resonate across the globe,” the Pakistani Nobel laureate said.
She added that she would be soon announcing additional support for Palestinian-led organisations and humanitarian efforts— building on the more than $300,000 Malala Fund has already committed to the cause in recent months.
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The world’s youngest Nobel laureate added that there could be no future for Gaza if its children have no place to live and learn safely. More than 80% of Gaza’s schools and all universities have been damaged or destroyed, she added.
“Rebuilding Gaza’s education system will require a lasting ceasefire and years of investment. But in the interim, we must all do everything we can to lend our support to as many Palestinian students as possible by sharing their stories, echoing their calls to action and funding them directly.”
