EI strongly condemns attack on school girls
Malala Yousafzai, a 14-year old school girl and a campaigner for girls’ right to education was attacked on October 9 on her way home from school in Mingora, north-western Pakistan. Two gun men boarded a bus full of school girls, asked for Malala by name, shot her in the head and injured two other girls.
Malala was the first person to be awarded the National Peace Award by the Pakistani government in December 2011. Malala first came to public attention in 2009 when the BBC published her Urdu blog describing her life in Swat Valley after the Taleban issued an edict banning girls’ education in the region in 2009.
EI urges the Pakistani authorities to ensure the safety of school children, especially girls. The journey to and from school, as well as schools, must be safe and secure to guarantee the best possible conditions for teaching and learning.
EI reminds the government of Pakistan of its responsibility to guarantee the right to education and to freedom of speech. EI urges the Pakistani government to:
1. Take all necessary measures to guarantee the physical and psychological integrity and security of girl students and their teachers, and of all girls and women in Pakistan as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan (Article 25);
2. Take all necessary measures to ensure Pakistan fulfils its national and international obligations, in particular: under Article 25A of the Pakistani Constitution ensuring the right to education, under the Convention on Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and under the Convention on the Rights of the Child;
3. Take immediate action to ensure the perpetrators of this deplorable attack are apprehended and brought to justice.
EI adopted the Declaration ‘Schools Shall be Safe Sanctuaries’ in 2009, calling on the international community to increase efforts to prevent violations of the right to education, and ensure the safety and security of learners, teachers and academics everywhere.
The seven articles of the EI Declaration are: 1. Reaffirm the commitment to the principle of the right to education in safety; 2. Take practical measures to ensure protection; 3. End impunity for attacks; 4. Strengthen monitoring of attacks; 5. Prioritise action and share expertise on resilience and recovery; 6. Make education an agent for peace; 7. Support campaigns of solidarity.
EI also extends its full solidarity to the parents, teachers and friends of Malala Yousafzai as well as her fellow pupils.
