Sheila Jackson Lee: “As one of the co-sponsors and Co-Chair of both the Children's Caucus and the Pakistan Caucus, I rise in strong support…”

“As one of the co-sponsors and Co-Chair of both the Children's Caucus and the Pakistan Caucus, I rise in strong support of H.R. 3583, the Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act. Mr. Speaker, the passage of H.R. 3583 would provide numerous educational opportunities to Pakistani women in situations similar to Malala Yousafzai. According to the United Nation's Education for All Global Monitoring Report, Pakistan has the second-largest number of children not attending school, and nearly half of rural girls have never been to school. The Pakistan-based Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Program awards scholarships to academically talented, financially needy Pakistani students from all regions to pursue bachelor's or master's degrees at participating Pakistani universities. The Malala Yousafzai Scholarship Act would require the U.S. Agency for International Development to award 50 percent of its Merit and Needs-Based Scholarship Program scholarships to Pakistani women each year through 2016. Mr. Speaker, Malala Yousafzai is the heroic Pakistani girl who rose to prominence as she stood against the oppressive policies imposed on the citizens of Pakistan by the Taliban. She is the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner, and was awarded the honor for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education.…”