US School Named After #Malala Begins Operations

JANUARY 16, 2020

A US school named after Malala Yousafzai, the globally renowned education activist,  has begun operations.

The elementary school in Fort Bend County, Texas, is named after the youngest Nobel Prize winner. The school opened its doors to students last week and “plans to nurture Yousafzai’s mission of education and acceptance”, the US Consulate said in a Twitter message on January 15.

Earlier called the District 51 Elementary School, the school was recently renamed Malala Yousafzai Elementary School during a Board Meeting on December 17, in which the Fort Bend ISD Board of Trustees voted to rename the school in honor of Malala. The name was chosen following a process that included submissions from the community.

In fall, the District had asked the FBISD community to submit nominations for the new facility, and then established a committee to select the name. More than 100 names were submitted for consideration by the committee that consisted of teachers, parents and students, community members, staff and a Board member.

Malala is a Pakistani education activist and the youngest ever Nobel Peace Prize winner. She is a global voice for human rights advocacy, especially the education of women and children. She rose to international prominence after she was shot by the Taliban in 2012 in Swat for speaking up against the militants’ activities in the area, especially with respect to their refusal to allow girls seek education.

After she was shot, her family moved to London and Malala now studies at Oxford University.