Malala Yousafzai in 2016. (Getty Images)
BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — Malala Yousafzai, the youngest ever Nobel Prize laureate, made an appearance at the Massachusetts Conference for Women in Boston on Thursday.
Yousafzai has been a lifelong advocate for women’s education. In 2012, she was shot by the Taliban for speaking out when she was 15 years old.
While speaking at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Yousafzai said countries around the world need to work toward providing girls with education.
“There are 130 million girls who are out of school right now," she said. "They do not have access to a classroom. They do not have access to books. And they’re not just losing the opportunity to learn, but they’re losing the opportunity to have a future."
Yousafzai said those girls who do not get access to education can “suffer from early child marriages,” and cannot “show their skills and contribute to community.”
The Pakistani activist said her goals include addressing “social norms that prevent girls from going to school,” and bringing more financial support for education.
“We need to push leaders and countries to contribute more towards girls’ education,” Yousafzai said.
Among the other keynote speakers was American soccer star and World Cup winner Megan Rapinoe, who said she was "in awe" by the amount of women who attended.
Around 12,000 women came to the conference on Thursday.
Rapinoe spoke about the U.S. National Women's Team's fight for equal pay.
WBZ NewsRadio’s Madison Rogers (@_madisonrogers) reports
Follow WBZ NewsRadio: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | iHeartmedia App