FRANKFURT — The Frankfurt International Book Fair, the world’s largest, opened on Saturday with representatives from 100 countries and 4,000 exhibitors. Among the participants was a delegation from Afghanistan, showcasing books in Farsi and Pashto at a dedicated booth.
Ismail Mashal, who led the Afghan booth, emphasized the urgent need to reopen schools and universities for Afghan women and girls, a central issue in the country’s ongoing struggle for rights. “The only way to lift Afghanistan out of poverty, war, and displacement is through education and knowledge,” Mashal said during the cultural event.
He highlighted the challenges faced by the Afghan people, particularly women and girls, under the current regime, and called on the international community to act. “The world must understand that the people of Afghanistan are opposed to war, terrorism, and the extremism that has been imposed on our country,” he said.
Mashal urged global leaders to press for the reopening of schools and universities that have been closed to Afghan women and girls since the Taliban took power.
Afghanistan’s presence at the Frankfurt Book Fair marks its return after a three-year absence, a move Mashal described as a “message of hope and resilience” for the Afghan people. He noted that the goal of the Afghan booth was to present the country’s true image to the world, despite the hardships its citizens continue to endure.
