Malala Yousafzai has once again called on Muslim leaders to confront the Taliban government in Afghanistan, condemning its oppressive policies toward girls and women. Speaking at an international summit in Islamabad, Malala, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, emphasized the Taliban’s disregard for women’s rights, describing their actions as a denial of basic humanity.
In her address to the summit, which focused on girls’ education in Islamic countries, Malala directly criticized the Taliban for restricting women and girls from accessing education and work. “Simply put, the Taliban in Afghanistan do not see women as human beings,” she declared, urging the leaders to recognize that the Taliban’s policies have no basis in Islam. She stressed that these actions contradict the core values of Islam, which she believes supports the empowerment of women.
The summit, hosted by the Pakistani government in collaboration with the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Muslim World League, gathered ministers and scholars from Muslim-majority countries who advocated for girls’ education. However, Taliban representatives, who were invited, chose not to attend.
Malala, who was shot by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 for advocating girls’ education, also highlighted the plight of women and girls in Afghanistan, noting the systematic gender apartheid under the Taliban’s rule. “They are punishing women and girls who dare to break their obscure laws by beating them up, detaining them, and harming them,” she said. Despite the Taliban’s claims of respecting women’s rights according to their interpretation of Islamic law, Malala argued that their actions were a clear violation of the true spirit of Islam.
Afghanistan remains the only country where girls are banned from education beyond grade six, with over one and a half million girls being denied schooling since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Malala pointed out that such restrictions on education are not confined to Afghanistan, urging the international community to recognize the global threats to girls’ education, including crises in Gaza, Yemen, and Sudan.
As the world watches, Malala’s calls for action reflect the urgent need for global unity to fight for girls’ education, particularly in countries where oppressive regimes continue to stifle their rights.
