Malala Yousafzai: Taliban’s Ban on Girls’ Education Is a Crime, Not Just Injustice
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has strongly condemned the Taliban’s continued ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan, calling it not only an act of oppression but a crime against humanity.
In a statement released on the occasion of Afghanistan’s new academic year, Malala stated that Afghan girls are being systematically denied their fundamental right to education. She emphasized that they deserve the opportunity to shape their own futures and contribute to society.
She stated that Afghan girls should be in school, sitting behind their desks, opening their books, and thinking about the limitless possibilities that await them. Instead, Afghan girls wake up each morning in a world where their future has been stolen from them.
The Malala Fund highlighted that the Taliban have, for the fourth consecutive year, barred girls from attending school beyond grade six—a policy that Malala described as a deliberate act of injustice and a crime that is unacceptable.
The statement further emphasized that Afghan girls are not missing out on education due to conflict or natural disasters but solely because of their gender. Malala’s foundation stressed that the Taliban’s policies not only block girls’ access to education but systematically exclude women from all areas of public life.
Addressing Afghan girls directly, the statement underlined that a world allowing gender-based discrimination to prevail is, in reality, betraying itself.
As Afghanistan enters another academic year, the Taliban’s continued restrictions leave millions of girls without access to education, drawing international condemnation and raising serious human rights concerns.
