Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel laureate and women’s rights activist, has condemned the Taliban’s policies in Afghanistan as “extreme, anti-women, brutal, and oppressive.”
In a post on X, Yousafzai criticized the Taliban’s continued efforts to suppress Afghan women and girls, stating: “The Taliban continue to point literal and metaphoric weapons at girls and women in Afghanistan every day, from public beatings to ruthless edicts that ban them from learning, working and living freely. The brutality of the Taliban’s oppressive system against women is so extreme that Afghan activists and human rights defenders are calling it gender apartheid.”
Yousafzai underscored that Afghan women and girls need more than mere expressions of sympathy; they require immediate and concrete support.
She called on world governments and influential international bodies to leverage their power to hold the Taliban accountable through international law. Additionally, she urged leaders from Muslim-majority countries and organizations to take a stand against what she described as the Taliban’s “misuse of religion and culture” to justify their actions.
Yousafzai expressed hope that, even in these dire circumstances, the people of Afghanistan would stand in solidarity with women and girls across the nation.
Since reclaiming power, the Taliban have stripped Afghan citizens, particularly women, of many fundamental rights. Women have been barred from pursuing education and face severe restrictions on their personal freedoms.
Most recently, the Taliban introduced a new “Virtue and Vice” law, which prohibits women from appearing in public spaces where men are present. The law defines women’s faces and voices as “awrah”—forbidden to be seen or heard by men—effectively erasing them from public life.
The international community has condemned the Taliban’s measures, yet tangible action has been limited, leaving Afghan women increasingly isolated and vulnerable.
