• Nobel laureate calls upon Muslim world to stand up for Afghan women
• Censures Israel for ‘decimating’ Gaza’s education system
• Islamabad Declaration recognises girls’ education as religious obligation
ISLAMABAD: Nobel laureate and activist Malala Yousafzai has urged Muslim leaders not to “legitimise” the Taliban government in Afghanistan and recognise it as “perpetrators of gender apartheid”.
In her address to the International Conference on Girls’ Education in Muslim Communities on Sunday, Ms Yousafzai lambasted Israel for destroying educational institutions in Gaza and the Kabul regime for systemically stopping Afghan girls from getting an education.
She said the Afghan Taliban have “ripped away the right to learn” from Afghan girls by banning their education beyond Grade 6.
“They have weaponised our faith to justify it,” she said, adding the Afghan Taliban want to “eliminate women and girls from every aspect of public life and erase them from society”.
They punish women and girls who go against their decrees by “beating them up, detaining them and harming them”, she said of the Afghan government, which declined the invitation to attend the conference.
“They [Taliban] cloak their crimes in cultural and religious justification, but let us be absolutely clear; there is nothing Islamic about this. These policies do not reflect the teachings of Islam. In fact, they go against everything our faith stands for,” Ms Yousafzai added.
She called upon the Muslim leaders to “stand up for Afghan women” and recognise the Taliban regime as perpetrators of gender apartheid. “Do not legitimise them. Do not make compromises on our faith,” she implored.
Call out Israel
The 27-year-old Nobel laureate also criticised Israeli atrocities in Gaza, especially the damage inflicted on the education system.
“Israel has decimated the entire education system. They have bombed all universities, destroyed 90 per cent of schools and indiscriminately attacked civilians sheltering in school buildings.”
“Palestinian children have lost their lives and future. A Palestinian girl cannot have the future she deserves if her school is bombed and her family is killed,” she added.
Ms Yousafzai vowed to keep calling out Israel’s violations of international law and human rights.
