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First-year U of T students – and twin sisters – bring passion for activism and girls' empowerment to campus: CBC News

Nivaal Rehman (left) and Maryam Rehman (right), are attending the summit for the first time
Nivaal Rehman (left) and Maryam Rehman (right) at the 2016 Social Good Summit (photo by Freya Morales/UNDP)

Maryam and Nivaal Rehman are both only 18 years old, but they already have their own charity, boast a huge social media following and can claim to have met the likes of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Nobel Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai.

Now, the identical twin sisters are on their way to the University of Toronto.

The incoming first-year students were featured on , where they revealed that their activism was prompted by the plight of girls in their native Pakistan being forced to quit school and go to work at a young age.

Girls’ education and empowerment has been an obsession for the Rehman twins ever since.

Going into their first year at U of T, the pair have the typical concerns about university life – “We hope that we’ll be able to fit in nicely and get our work started,” Maryam told the broadcaster – but say they’ll still find time to nurture their non-profit and continue their activism.

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