Dovile Bogusyte
Girls must get an education. It’s the best protection for girls. If a mother is not educated, how can she help her children? If young people are not educated, who will rebuild our country?
— MUZOON ALMELLEHAN
Muzoon Almellehan is a Syrian activist and refugee who is known for her work to keep Syrian girls in school.
Born on April 8, 1999, Muzoon grew up in the southwest Syrian city of Daraa. The civil war that ravaged the country forced thousands to flee and in 2013, the Almellehan family crossed the border into Jordan in the middle of the night and settled in a refugee camp in Zaatari. Although her father has asked her to pack only the bare necessities, Muzoon, carried a suitcase full of books with her because education was the most important thing to her.
It was during her 18 months in the Zaatari camp that she began advocating for children’s access to education, especially for girls. She witnessed many refugee girls — some as young as 13 and 14 —dropping out of school and getting married. Despite her age, Muzoon began walking through the camps, from tent to tent, to speak with parents about the value of education and the risks of early marriage. At every turn, she urged them to send their daughters back to school.
Her hard work to advocate for girls’ education allowed some to compare her to the Pakistani teenage activist Malala Yousafzai, calling her the “Malala of Syria.” In fact, Muzoon and Malala met in person and became fast friends when Malala toured refugee camps in Jordan. In 2014, Malala invited Muzoon to be her guest at the ceremony in Oslo when she became the youngest person ever to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Since fleeing her homeland, Muzoon Almellehan lived in Jordan for three years, before being resettled in the United Kingdom.
Muzoon's activism received recognition in numerous countries. In 2015, she was listed as one of BBC's 100 Women. In 2017 Muzoon was appointed UNICEF goodwill ambassador — the youngest ever, at 19, and the first with official refugee status. Time magazine also named her one of the 30 most influential teenagers in the world in 2017.