Taliban 'do not see women as human', says Malala in Pakistan

Malala Yousafzai urged Muslim leaders to challenge the Taliban government in Afghanistan and its oppressive policies against women and girls. Speaking at an international summit on girls’ education in Islamic countries hosted in Pakistan, she stated, "Simply put, the Taliban in Afghanistan do not see women as human beings."

Yousafzai told Muslim leaders that the Taliban's policies, which include preventing girls and women from accessing education and employment, "have no basis in Islam." The 27-year-old was shot by Pakistani Taliban gunmen at the age of 15 for publicly advocating for girls' education and was subsequently evacuated from Pakistan.

At the conference held in Islamabad on Sunday, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate expressed that she was "both excited and happy" to be back in her home country. She has only returned to Pakistan a few times since the 2012 attack, with her first return in 2018. She stated that the Taliban government has re-established a "gender apartheid system." She said that the Taliban "punish women and girls who dare to violate their vague laws, beating, detaining, and harming them."

She added that the government "cloaks their crimes in cultural and religious reasons," but in reality, it "goes against everything our faith stands for." The Taliban government declined to respond to a BBC request for comment on the advocate's remarks. They have previously stated that they respect women's rights in accordance with their interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law. Leaders of the Taliban government were invited to the summit, which was hosted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Pakistani government, and the Muslim World League, but did not attend.

The conference attendees included dozens of ministers and scholars from Muslim-majority countries who advocate for girls' education. Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, its government has not been formally recognized by any foreign government. Western countries have stated that their policies restricting women need to change. Afghanistan is now the only country in the world that prohibits women and girls from accessing secondary and higher education – with approximately 1.5 million people deliberately being denied the opportunity to be educated. “Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls are completely banned from going to school beyond the sixth grade,” Yousafzai said on Sunday.

The Taliban have repeatedly promised that they will allow girls back into schools once certain issues are resolved – including ensuring the curriculum is “Islamized”. But this has yet to happen. Last December, women were also banned from training to become midwives and nurses, effectively closing off their last avenue to further education in the country. Yousafzai stated that girls’ education is at risk in several countries. She said that in Gaza, Israel has “destroyed the entire education system.”

She urged those present to "condemn the gravest violations of girls' right to education," noting that crises in countries like Afghanistan, Yemen, and Sudan mean that "the entire future of girls is being stolen."