Zakia Ahmad, an Afghan mountaineer who recently summited Mount Everest, has launched a campaign in support of girls’ education in Afghanistan, urging people around the world to stand up for the rights of women and girls.
Ahmad said the initiative aims to draw attention to the continued denial of education for millions of girls under Taliban rule and to mobilize support for their right to attend school and university.
Her campaign comes as restrictions on female education remain firmly in place nearly five years after the Taliban returned to power.
Separately, Afghan activists and members of the Afghan diaspora gathered in Germany to demand the reopening of schools and universities to girls. Demonstrators carried banners and chanted slogans including “No to the Taliban” and “Bread, Work, Freedom,” while urging the international community not to remain silent about the situation facing women in Afghanistan.
“We ask the United Nations, the international community and human rights organizations to be the voice of Afghan women and to support Afghan women and children,” said Hasnia Faqiri, a human rights activist who participated in the gathering.
Another participant, Saleha Aini, said the protest was intended to amplify the voices of women inside Afghanistan who have been deprived of their rights.
“We are speaking on behalf of Afghan women who have been stripped of their basic rights,” she said. “No one should ignore the voices of Afghan women.”
The renewed calls for action come amid growing criticism from international advocates.
Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and global education activist, recently condemned what she described as international silence and indifference toward the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan. She urged world leaders not to remain passive in the face of what she called widespread violations of women’s rights.
Inside Afghanistan, many girls remain unable to continue their education.
“Since the Taliban came to power, I have been very upset,” said Nahid, a student who has been barred from attending school. “They closed the schools, they closed the universities, and we lost hope.”
The Taliban banned girls from attending secondary school shortly after returning to power in August 2021 and later barred women from universities. The restrictions have affected millions of girls and women and have drawn repeated condemnation from the United Nations, human rights groups and governments around the world.
Despite sustained international pressure, Taliban have shown no indication that they plan to reverse the policy.
The issue has gained renewed attention in recent days after Din Mohammad, the head of the Taliban’s Council of Ulema in Kabul, described education for women and girls as “forbidden.” In remarks that drew widespread criticism, he argued that women should be limited to studying certain religious subjects related to marriage, child-rearing and household responsibilities.
Human rights advocates and religious scholars have condemned the comments, saying they have no basis in Islamic teachings and further underscore the Taliban’s opposition to female education.
For Ahmad and other campaigners, the fight over education remains central to Afghanistan’s future.
Their message is that denying girls access to education not only violates fundamental rights but also undermines the country’s prospects for development and prosperity.
