Malala Yousafzai urges Muslim leaders to back gender apartheid legal push
News Mania Desk / Piyal Chatterjee / 12th January 2025
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai encouraged Muslim leaders on Sunday to support initiatives to classify gender apartheid as a crime in international law, urging them to condemn the Taliban in Afghanistan for its treatment of women and girls.
During a summit on girls’ education in Muslim communities, which gathered international leaders and scholars in her native Pakistan, Yousafzai emphasized that Muslim voices should be at the forefront opposing the Taliban’s policies that keep teenage girls from schools and women from universities. “In Afghanistan, an entire generation of girls will be deprived of its future,” she declared in a speech delivered in Islamabad. “As leaders of the Muslim community, it is now the moment to speak out and wield your influence.”
The Taliban claim they honor women’s rights based on their view of Afghan culture and Islamic law. Spokespeople for the Taliban administration did not quickly reply to a request for comments on Yousafzai’s remarks. Since the Taliban assumed control of Afghanistan in 2021, no foreign government has officially acknowledged them, and diplomats have stated that a shift in women’s rights is necessary for recognition steps.
Yousafzai endured a headshot at the age of 15 in Pakistan from an assailant while advocating against the Pakistani Taliban’s efforts to restrict girls’ access to education.
The conference, held by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) along with the Muslim World League, featured numerous ministers and scholars from Muslim-majority nations. Yousafzai urged the scholars to “publicly confront and condemn the Taliban’s repressive regulations” and for political leaders to advocate for classifying gender apartheid as a crime against humanity in international criminal law.
Pakistan hosted the summit, having experienced tense relations with the Afghan Taliban lately due to claims that militants are employing Afghan territory to conduct attacks on Pakistan, a claim the Taliban refute.
