Apple joins Malala Fund to empower girls in India

London:  Aiming to empower girl education in India and other countries, Apple on Monday announced support for the Malala Fund -- led by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai -- which is focused on advocating every girl's right to 12 years of free, safe and quality education.

With Apple's support, the Malala Fund expects to double the number of grants awarded by its "Gulmakai Network" and extend funding programmes to India and Latin America -- with the initial goal of extending secondary education opportunities to more than 100,000 girls. The fund's "Gulmakai Network" currently supports programmes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Lebanon, Turkey and Nigeria.

Apple will become the fund's first Laureate partner, enabling a significant expansion of Yousafzai's effort to support girls' education and advocate for equal opportunity.

"We believe that education is a great equalising force, and we share the Malala Fund's commitment to give every girl an opportunity to go to school," CEO Tim Cook said in a statement.  Cook will also join the Malala Fund leadership council. "Yousafzai is a courageous advocate for equality. She's one of the most inspiring figures of our time, and we are honoured to help her extend the important work she is doing to empower girls around the world," Cook added.