ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai on Sunday urged Muslim leaders to support efforts to classify gender apartheid as a crime under international law and called for stronger condemnation of the Taliban’s treatment of women and girls in Afghanistan.
Speaking at a summit on girls’ education in Muslim communities, held in her native Pakistan, Yousafzai emphasized that Muslim leaders and scholars must take the lead in challenging the Taliban’s restrictions, which have barred teenage girls from schools and women from universities since the group returned to power in 2021.
“Muslim voices must lead the way against the Taliban’s oppressive laws,” she said, addressing an audience that included ministers and scholars from Muslim-majority countries.
The Taliban claim to uphold women’s rights in accordance with their interpretation of Islamic law and Afghan cultural values. However, their policies have drawn widespread international criticism and remain a major obstacle to the group’s recognition as a legitimate government.
No foreign government has formally recognized the Taliban, and diplomats have repeatedly said that progress on women’s rights is a key condition for recognition. Taliban representatives did not immediately respond to Yousafzai’s remarks.
“Under their system of gender apartheid, the Taliban are punishing women and girls who dare to break their obscure laws by beating them up, detaining them and harming them. Simply put, the Taliban do not see women as human beings. They cloak their crimes in cultural and religious justification,” she said.
Yousafzai, who survived a gunshot to the head at age 15 after campaigning against the Pakistani Taliban’s efforts to deny girls an education, called on Muslim scholars at the summit to “openly challenge and denounce” the Taliban’s actions. She also urged political leaders to back efforts to include gender apartheid as a crime against humanity under international law.
“Afghan women and girls must be free to shape their own future. The very loudest champions of their cause must be fellow Muslims, leaders such as yourselves,” she added.
The summit, organized by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Muslim World League, concluded with the signing of the Islamabad Declaration. The declaration outlined a collective commitment from Muslim-majority nations to empower girls through education and combat systemic barriers to gender equality.
The event took place against the backdrop of rising tensions between Pakistan and the Afghan Taliban. Pakistan has accused militants of using Afghan territory to launch attacks, a charge the Taliban deny.
Yousafzai’s appeal underscores the growing calls for a united front within the Muslim world to address the plight of Afghan women and girls, whose rights have been severely curtailed under Taliban rule.
