US Congress passes 'Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act' for Pakistani women

Washington, Jan 5: The United States has recently passed the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act for the education of Pakistani Women. The act is expected to expand the number of scholarships available to Pakistani women in order to receive higher education under a merit-based programme.

 

 

The bill was passed by the House of Representatives in March 2020, and later by the United States Senate by a voice vote on Jan 1, 2021. The bill will now head to the White House for the approval of the US President Donald Trump to finally become a law.

 

The Act requires the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to award at least 50 per cent of scholarship to Pakistani women between 2020 and 2022. It requires the USAID to leverage investments by Pakistani private sector in the United States. This is being done to improve and expand access to education programs in Pakistan.

 

The act makes it mandatory for the USAID to brief the US Congress about the number of scholarships providedunder the programme. This includes percentage of recipients who are involuntarily pushed out of the programme for their failure to meet programme requirements as well.

 

The USAID is an interdependent agency of the United States that is responsible for administering foreign aid. It is one of the largest aid agencies in the world with a budget of 27 billion USD. The USAID has so far awarded more than 6000 scholarships to the young women of Pakistan since 2010.

 

These scholarships help the Pakistani women to receive Higher Education in Pakistan. The Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act aims to expand this programme.