ISLAMABAD – Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai strongly criticised the ruling authorities in Afghanistan, stating that the Taliban do not consider women human beings and have deprived them of their right to education for a decade.
She expressed these views while addressing a conference on girls’ education in Islamabad on Sunday.
Malala Yousafzai, addressing the conference, thanked the Muslim World League for bringing everyone together. She highlighted that 120 million girls worldwide are unable to attend school, with 10 million girls in Pakistan also deprived of education.
The Nobel laureate strongly condemned the ongoing aggression of the Zionist state in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, where Israel has destroyed the entire educational system. She mentioned that Palestinian children have sacrificed their lives and futures.
She also stated that the conference’s purpose would not be fulfilled if the education of Afghan girls was not addressed. “For a decade, the Taliban have denied the right to education,” she said.
Malala further expressed that the Taliban have enacted over a hundred laws to strip women of their rights and do not consider women as human beings. She pointed out that the Taliban present their crimes as cultural and religious justifications, adding that it is important to clarify that none of this is Islamic and these policies do not reflect Islamic teachings.
She emphasized that these are violations of human rights, which cannot be justified by any cultural or religious excuse.
It is worth noting that Malala Yousafzai arrived in Pakistan yesterday to attend the girls’ education conference. Upon her arrival, the Parliamentary Secretary for Education welcomed her.
In a message on X (formerly Twitter), Malala expressed her excitement to attend the conference with Muslim leaders from around the world. She stated that she would talk about the right to education for all girls and hold the Taliban accountable for crimes against Afghan women and girls.
The two-day international conference, hosted by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif under the theme “Challenges and Opportunities for Women’s Education in Muslim Societies,” is being held at the Jinnah Convention Center, with delegations from nearly 44 countries.
