Education is an important tool to combat racism

Advocating for girls’ education isn’t a single-sided effort; it intersects with many other social justice issues, including the fight for racial equality. And no one understands that better than Malala Fund Education Champion Benilda Regina Paiva De Brito.

“The Black movement has always focused on education as an important tool to combat racism, monitoring the dropout rates of Black girls and proposing public policies [to combat them].”

Benilda is a Human Rights Coordinator at Odara Instituti da Mulher Negra, where she’s fighting the structural racism that keeps Black Brazillian girls from going to school. In Bahia state, where Benilda works, challenges like poverty and violence often keep girls from completing their education. With her Malala Fund grant, Benilda is researching these barriers to advocate for policies that support girls’ enrolment and success.