Assembly
Malala’s activism began at age 11 when she blogged about her experience living under the Taliban for the BBC. Malala Fund created Assembly, a digital publication and newsletter, to help more girls tell their stories just like Malala.
Assembly was an inclusive platform for activist-minded young women around the world to share their thoughts, challenges and accomplishments — and a source of ideas and inspiration in their fight for education and equality. Assembly published original content from girls in over 100 countries and in more than 28 languages.
I helped create (and proudly named) the publication. I contributed to the editorial work— interviewing young women, writing articles and editing girl-written content. I also worked on promotion.
Our team won two Webby Awards for this work.
The Newsletter
Assembly’s newsletter came out twice a month. Girls pitched content ideas through an online submission form. Published original content by girls that ranged from opinion pieces, Q&As, photo essays and poetry. Staff would also focus on specific issues or to profile incredible young women. Our most popular content series focused on climate change, girls’ education, racial justice, gender equality and mental health.
The Print Edition
To reach potential readers without regular internet access, we produced an annual print edition beginning in 2019 with some of our favorite stories from the previous year. The issues were printed and distributed to Malala Fund grantee publications. Stories were published in both English and the author’s native language.
Dare to Lead
In June 2022, HarperCollins India published “Dare to Learn: The Power of an Educated Girl,” an anthology of Assembly stories 25 young women around the world. The book received good reviews and has a five-star rating on Amazon.
How We Built It
Assembly was a by girls, for girls publication. That’s why, when building Assembly’s website with the help of design firm Language Dept, we included some of our most dedicated contributors in the process. Nine previous Assembly contributors from Algeria, Brazil, India, Iraq, Japan, Nigeria, Mexico and the U.S. participated in the design review and user testing process. Each girl joined an hour-long Zoom call with staff to review mock-ups of both the desktop and mobile versions of the website. The girls provided feedback on the colours, layouts, navigation, language choices and overall user experience. They also suggested ideas for what more they hoped to see on the new Assembly site.
“I feel like I have credible representation through it, and that I have a voice which is capable and deserving of being heard.
Taapti, India
“Assembly is not just a newsletter — it is a tribe of young women who dare to challenge the status quo and speak up for what they believe in.”
Nayalash, Pakistan
“Inspiring, informative and just makes me learn from girls who never give up.”
Saraí, Mexico