LONDON: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai said on Sunday she is concerned that the Taliban’s ban on girls’ education in Afghanistan will not be temporary, as has been claimed.
Ms. Yousafzai told BBC Andrew Marr Show that “I’m afraid that this ban that they just announced that they are calling temporary, may not actually be temporary”. A similar ban in 1996 “lasted for five years”, she pointed out.
After seizing power in August, in September the Taliban barred girls from going back to secondary school, ordering boys back in the classroom.
The Taliban have claimed they will allow the girls back after ensuring security and strict isolation under their interpretation of Islamic law – but many are skeptical.
“We are calling on the Taliban to give girls immediate access to their full education, we are calling on G20 leaders and other world leaders to ensure the rights of girls are protected in Afghanistan,” Yousafzai said.
The 24-year-old activist, who revealed on Twitter this week that he had got married With Aser Malik, sent a open letter Last month urged the withdrawal of the ban.
Published in Dawn, November 15, 2021
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