Angelina Jolie's charity donates $50K to teen shot in Pakistan

(CNN) -- Angelina Jolie is known as an actress and a special envoy for the UN's refugee agency, but she's also a mom. So when she read about teen education rights advocate Malala Yousafzai last Wednesday as her children with Brad Pitt were getting ready for school, Jolie paused to explain Malala's story to their kids.

The actress wrote in a post on The Daily Beast that it was "difficult for them to comprehend a world where men would try to kill a child whose only 'crime' was the desire that she and others like her be allowed to go to school."

The 37-year-old said that later that night, her 8-year-old "suggested that the world build a statue for Malala, and fittingly create a reading nook near it," while her 6-year-old wanted to know if Malala had any pets, and if so, who'd care for them.

But Jolie added that her children also wanted to know, "'Why did those men think they needed to kill Malala?' I answered, 'because an education is a powerful thing.'"

Jolie is backing up her statement through her charity, donating $50,000 to Tina Brown's Women in the World Foundation through her Education Partnership for Children of Conflict.

Brown's organization is creating a Women of Impact Award for Girls' Education in honor of Malala, and 100 percent of donations given will go toward "girls' education on the ground in Pakistan and Afghanistan," the president of the Women in the World Foundation, Kim Azzarelli, said in a statement.

"As a response to Malala's bravery, girls across Pakistan, Afghanistan and the world are standing up and saying, 'I am Malala' -- and this is our opportunity to show the same solidarity," Jolie and Brown added.

In her post for the Daily Beast, Jolie remarked that "Malala is proof that it only takes the voice of one brave person to inspire countless men, women, and children. In classrooms and at kitchen tables around the world, mothers, fathers, sons, and daughters are praying for Malala's swift recovery and committing themselves to carry her torch."

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