The father of 15-year-old Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousufzai, who was shot by the Taliban for advocating girls' right to education, has been appointed as Special UN Adviser on Global Education.
"Ziauddin Yousufzai, a former teacher and headmaster, will play a critical role in helping remove the discrimination and barriers that prevent girls going to school," The News quoted UN Special Envoy for Global Education, Gordon Brown as saying in a statement.
Brown said that Yousufzai has been appointed to assist the work of getting every child to school by the end of 2015.
Brown will unveil on Monday a Malala Plan to get all girls to school by the end of 2015. He will ask supporters of girls' education - who meet in Paris on Monday at the 'Stand up for Malala' event, under the auspices of UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova and President Zardari of Pakistan - to join a day of action on July 12th, Malala's birthday.
"With today's announcements we show that as a result of Malala's courage and her inspiration the whole world is pushing for education for every girl. We will prepare country-by-country reports of the gaps in educational opportunity. We will hold a summit with off-track countries in Washington on April 19th, which the UN secretary-general, the president of the World Bank and I will host," he said.
"If the Taliban sought to vanquish her voice once and for all, they failed. For today her voice and her insistent dream that children should go to school echoes all around the world, as girl after girl, each wanting all girls to have the right to go to school, identifies with Malala," Brown added.
"To help in this global endeavour, Ziauddin Yousafzai, Malala's father, will become a Special Adviser to the UN Special Envoy for Global Education," Brown further said.
Malala was shot in the head and neck by the Taliban while she was returning home from school on October 9. She was eventually flown to a hospital in the UK for specialised treatment. She is now said to be in a stable condition.
