"Believe in yourself. Be confident and believe that what you say matters.” — @malala

We wish you peace, prosperity and happiness this Eid al-Adha. عيد مبارك عید مبارک اختر دې مبارک شه ঈদ মুবারক Bayramınız kutlu olsun 🎨: @devucii

19-year-old student Cindy Mu’s motivation for pursing a degree in healthcare? Her grandmother’s resilience. 💛 — ✨✨ “What I fight for” is a Malala Fund series where young women share the big and small reasons they’re fighting for change and what they hope to protect through their activism. What are you fighting for? Tell us at the link in bio and you could be featured too.

👏🏾👏🏿👏🏽 Brazil’s energy is unmatched. On @Malala’s trip this month, she met several young Brazilian women, and @MalalaFund partners and Education Champions, to learn about what it takes to build an inclusive, intersectional movement for girls’ education. ✨ In Olinda, young women from Black, Indigenous and quilombola communities spoke to her about their activism and how it has transformed their communities. 21-year-old student Vitoira told Malala how she has helped champion laws to ensure quality education for quilombola girls. ✨In Cabo de Santo Agostinho, young women opened up to Malala about feeling isolated during the pandemic and watching their classmates fail to make it back to school. Many of the girls she met conduct research on school dropouts and advocate for marginalised students’ access to education. ✨And in Brasilia she met with key ministers to share what Brazilian girls and education leaders told her about the challenges they face to improving girls’ lives — and what they need from policy makers: more government spending on education. Video: @fernandafrazao

(Tap for English👇🏾) Meninas negras, indígenas e quilombolas no Brasil são as que mais enfrentam barreiras para estudar, com as maiores taxas de evasão e abandono escolar no país. @malala se reuniu com meninas dessas comunidades para discutir os desafios que enfrentam para acessar, permanecer e ter êxito na escola e também saber que mudanças elas desejam para terem uma educação equitativa e de qualidade. Aqui está o que elas disseram: “Quando ocupamos espaços, temos voz. Estamos deixando de lado o medo e ganhando coragem para lutar não apenas por nós mesmas, mas por todas as outras meninas. Estou estudando para ser professora. Estou construindo minha vida por meio da educação.” — Vitória Érika dos Santos Souza, 21 “Os jovens que estudam aqui lutam para ter direitos. Devemos nos sentir na escola como nos sentimos em casa: seguros.” — Bianca Maria da Silva, 21 “Um dos obstáculos que enfrentamos além do racismo é a forma como nós meninas quilombolas fomos silenciadas. Com esse projeto [EduQuilombo], voltamos a ter voz. Sou negra, quilombola e futura advogada.” — Ana Luiza do Nascimento Roque, 18 -- Black, Indigenous and quilombola girls in Brazil are the most likely to experience barriers to their education. Malala met with girls to discuss these challenges and what changes they want to see. Here’s what girls said: “When we occupy spaces, we have a voice. We get the courage to fight not only for ourselves but for all other girls. I am studying to become a teacher. I am building my life through education.” — Vitória Érika dos Santos Souza, 21 “Young students who study here struggle to have rights. We should feel at school how we feel at home: safe.” — Bianca Maria da Silva, 21 “One of the hurdles we face aside from racism is the way we [girls] have been silenced. With this [EduQuilombo] project, we’ve been able to have a voice again. I am Black, quilombola and a future lawyer.” — Ana Luiza do Nascimento Roque, 18 📸: @yasminvelloso_

Malala with girls in Brazil 🇧🇷💛>> Photos: @yasminvelloso_ Video: @fernandafrazao — #malalafund #malala #brasil #meninas

A snapshot of what @Malala’s been up to in Brazil 📸 🥰: 🌟 Taking selfies and chatting with students in Cabo de Santo Agostinho. 🌟 Meeting with young women to learn about issues girls face in their communities. 🌟 Dancing along with a team of girl drummers in Recife. More to come soon. 💛 Photo: Yasmin Velloso

🌸 One last stop in Rio's magical botanical garden before I continue on my trip around Brazil to meet amazing young women and education activists fighting for equality in their country. I'm excited to visit with @malalafund champions and hear about their work for girls' education 💙💛💚

“My friends are understanding and are always there for me. A chat with them can fix my mood. Our friendship is full of fun, craziness, care and love and I feel comfortable with them.“ — 18-year-old student from India, Dekshina — Want to share a video capturing friendship for this series too? DM us! - #friends #friendship #malalafund

We wish you peace, prosperity and happiness this Eid al-Fitr. عيد مبارك Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri عید مبارک ঈদ মোবারক 🎨: @devucii

Nowadays, social media is my way of reaching out to people and spreading awareness. I search for topics to learn and share with others about mental health. I paint bookmarks for myself and friends. And recently I’ve talked to a bookstore that sells them. I also read: for me reading is something that can make my days more bearable and it makes me feel like I’m doing something good with my time. Clouds and birds are one of the limited things that are still the same as my life before takeover. They make me feel like I have a connection with what I had and I will have them again one day. One of the hundred little beautiful details of life even on the worst days. For all the girls and women who are living the same life as mine, I want you to hold on. It doesn’t matter how much less you are allowed to do, just do not stop. – “What I fight for” is a Malala Fund series where young women share the big and small reasons they’re fighting for change and what they hope to protect through their activism. What are you fighting for? Tell us at the link in bio and you could be featured too. ✨

Happy Pohela Boishakh! শুভ নববর্ষ புத்தாண்டு வாழ்த்துக்கள்! 🎨: @devucii