Islamabad. Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai has criticized the Afghan Taliban regime, saying it has established a system of “gender apartheid” against women by hiding their crimes under the guise of culture and religion. Speaking on the second and final day of an international conference in Islamabad on the subject of girls’ education in Muslim countries, he said, “In simple words, the Taliban does not consider women as human beings.” They hide their crimes under the guise of cultural and religious justifications. “These policies are a violation of human rights and have no basis in Islamic teachings.”
The Taliban regained power in 2021 by toppling the government of Ashraf Ghani and have since been ruling Afghanistan with impunity, legalizing several anti-women policies, including depriving women of their right to education. Nobel laureate Malala (27) also raised questions on the Afghan government’s claim of implementing Islamic system in the country. “These are violations of human rights and no cultural or religious excuse can justify them,” he said.
He urged Muslim leaders to refrain from recognizing the Taliban government in Afghanistan and demonstrate real leadership by standing up against their policies that limit the education of women and girls. “Don’t legitimize them,” he told Muslim leaders as he branded the Taliban regime “perpetrators of gender apartheid.” He said that an entire generation of girls in Afghanistan is having their future snatched away.
“The Taliban have taken away the right to education from every Afghan girl and they want to eliminate women and girls from every aspect of public life and erase them from society,” she said. Malala also said that 12 million Pakistani girls are out of school, one of the highest numbers in the world, but expressed satisfaction that the conference was taking place in Pakistan. He also criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing it of destroying the region’s education system and violating human rights.
“In Gaza, Israel has destroyed the entire education system,” he said. They have bombed all universities, destroyed more than 90 percent of schools and indiscriminately attacked civilians taking shelter in school buildings….” She urged international solidarity to support education in conflict zones and end discriminatory practices against women and girls. Malala was shot at the age of 15 by the Pakistani Taliban because of her protests, but she survived and emerged as a global symbol of advocacy for girls’ education.
