OTTAWA — Today Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, in an address to a joint session of Parliament in the House of Commons,  asked the government to take a greater leadership role in educating girls around the world. Representatives from the ONE Campaign were invited to attend Yousafzai’s honorary Canadian citizenship ceremony and her address.

ONE’s country director in Canada, Stuart Hickox, said in reaction to Malala’s remarks:

“Malala Yousafzai is right—education is fundamental to ensuring secure, peaceful, and prosperous societies. Because poverty is sexist, extreme poverty disproportionately affects women and girls, but they are also the key to ending it.

“But with 130 million girls out of school around the world, we agree with the country’s newest honorary citizen: Canada should take the lead in ensuring that every one of them has access to good, quality education.

“There is still time for this government to deliver on their promises to girls and women living in extreme poverty.  In honour of Canada’s 150th anniversary, Prime Minister Trudeau should commit to a big, bold initiative to get girls around the world into classrooms and — eventually — out of poverty. Canada currently contributes USD$302 million on global education — which comes to about 2 cents a day per person. Prime Minister Trudeau should commit to doubling that amount and remind the world of Canadians’ generosity and leadership.”

ONE is a policy and advocacy organization of nearly 8 million people taking action to end extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa. Not politically partisan, ONE was co-founded by U2 lead singer Bono to raise public awareness and press political leaders to combat AIDS and other preventable diseases, increase investments in agriculture and nutrition, and demand greater transparency in poverty-fighting programs.