Malala Yousafzai Urges Muslim Leaders To Reject Taliban Rule and Defend Girls’ Education
Pakistani Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai called on Muslim leaders to withhold recognition of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and to actively oppose its harsh restrictions on women’s and girls’ education. Speaking at the closing session of the International Conference of Girls’ Education in Muslim Countries in Islamabad on Sunday, Yousafzai pressed Muslim leaders to use their influence to confront the Taliban’s oppressive policies.
“Do not legitimize them [the Afghan Taliban],” Malala implored. “Now is the time for you, as Muslim leaders, to speak out and use your influence. You have the power to show real leadership.” She criticized the Taliban for systematically denying women basic human rights, saying, “The Taliban do not see women as human beings. They mask their crimes with cultural and religious justifications.”
Malala also condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza, accusing it of devastating the region’s educational infrastructure. “They have bombed all the universities, destroyed more than 90% of the schools, and indiscriminately attacked civilians seeking refuge in school buildings,” she said. She further highlighted the suffering of Palestinian children, noting, “A Palestinian girl cannot have the future she deserves if her school is bombed and her family is killed.”
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Malala, who survived a 2012 assassination attempt by Pakistani terrorists for her advocacy of girls’ education, has become a global icon for human rights. After recovering in the United Kingdom, she became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize laureate at 17.
The conference, titled “Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities: Challenges and Opportunities,” brought together more than 150 representatives from 47 countries, including educators, religious leaders, diplomats, and politicians. Mohammad bin Abdul Karim Al-Issa, secretary-general of the Muslim World League (MWL), pledged to adopt the summit’s declaration on girls’ education as a guiding document for the MWL. He emphasized the need for actionable steps to overcome barriers to education for girls in Muslim societies.
Despite being invited, the Taliban refused to participate in the conference, missing a crucial opportunity to address growing international criticism over their treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.
Malala arrived in Pakistan on Saturday to attend the conference. Earlier, expressed her enthusiasm for participating in the summit on social media, writing, “I am happy to be among the important leaders of the Islamic world on the critical issue of girls’ education.”
The event comes at a time of growing international demands for the Taliban to reverse their repressive policies against Afghan women and girls.
