Malala Yousafzai at the 2019 G7 Development and Education Ministers Meeting in Paris. (Photo credit: ... [+] CHRISTOPHE PETIT TESSON/AFP via Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images

London-based emerald supplier, Myne London, will become an official supporter of the Malala Fund to help girls’ access to education in Pakistan. It will do so through its charity arm, the Myne London Foundation.

Myne London sources all its emeralds from Swat Valley, Pakistan. The business is also focused on promoting women’s empowerment through access to education, training and skilled employment, supported by the region’s high-quality emerald melee, as well as the creation of Swat Valley emerald bespoke jewels and collaborations with international jewelry brands and designers.

Sisters Fiona Wellington and Kate Murray Gordos founded Myne London in 2018 based on their personal experiences. The sisters were born in Malaysia and raised in London and Peshawar, Pakistan. They travelled extensively across Pakistan including the Khyber regions and into Afghanistan and Kabul. During this time, they established relationships with the area. In 2018, they sent a team of experts to investigate little-known emerald mines in the Swat Valley. This is the source of all its emeralds, which the sisters say are traceable and transparent.

Myne London gemstone workers in Swat Valley, Pakistan.Myne London

The Myne London Foundation, established in 2021, receives 10% of all Myne London profits, to support those seeking access to education in the Myne London lapidary and emerald mining community. It hosted its inaugural fundraising event in London on March 19, 2022.

As the foundation’s core focus is on advancements in girls’ education, the company said it chose to support the Malala Fund and donate $10,000 to its grassroots efforts in Pakistan.

“Pakistan is a beautiful country and so close to our hearts as we spent a wonderful part of our childhood there,” Murray Gordos said in a statement. “We are deeply and historically connected to the education system in Pakistan.”

Female students in Lebanon in 2022 at a school funded by the Malala Fund following the 2010 ... [+] explosion in Beirut.Dalia Khamissy - Malala Fund

Murray Gordos said their father was a principal of a college in Peshawar who met with the president of Pakistan at the time to lobby for educational funds.

“Fiona and I were also extremely lucky to go to Murree Christian School, an American-run school in Murree in the foothills of the Himalayas,” Murray Gordos said. “Our world-class emeralds are sourced from mines very close to where we lived in Peshawar, and this also strengthens and affirms our commitment to Malala Fund.”

The Malala Fund was established by Malala Yousafzai and her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai in 2013 to champion every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe and quality education. It has given more than $12.9 million to local organizations across Pakistan since 2014, according to the statement. It also funds education initiatives in other countries in the region.

Myne London Grass Collection collar in 18k white gold with 47 natural emeralds from PakistanMyne London

“Malala Fund is commendable for its efforts to tackle barriers that prevent girls from staying in school, as well as bolstering government funding for girls’ education and promoting science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) learning,” Murray Gordos said.

Myne London in its statement said it plans to expand its support for Malala Fund by entering into a commercial co-venture in which a percentage of profits from Myne London jewelry sales will be donated to the charity.

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani education activist who rose to international prominence through tragedy. On October 9, 2012, while on a bus in Swat District of Pakistan, Yousafzai, who was 15 at the time, and two other girls were shot by a Taliban gunman in an assassination attempt targeting her for her education activism. She was struck in the head by a bullet and remained unconscious and in critical condition.

The attempt on her life sparked an international outpouring of support. After her recovery she became became a more prominent activist. She founded the Malala Fund in 2013. In 2014, at the age of 17, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, making her the youngest person to achieve this honor.