Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and education activist, said she recently discussed the Taliban’s restrictions on girls’ education in Afghanistan with Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum.
In a post on X, Yousafzai described Afghan women and girls as being “systematically erased from society and public life” under Taliban rule.
“I had a very productive meeting with President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico,” Yousafzai wrote. “We discussed our shared commitment to girls’ rights, including the right to a complete, safe, and quality education.”
Yousafzai also referred to the Taliban’s leadership in Afghanistan as a “gender apartheid regime.” She condemned the ongoing prohibitions in Afghanistan, where girls are barred from attending school beyond the sixth grade, and women are being systematically removed from public life.
Since retaking control of Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have prohibited girls from continuing their education beyond elementary school. Female university students have also been blocked from pursuing higher education, and a recent Taliban directive labeled women’s voices as “awrah,” a term signifying that a woman’s voice should be concealed.
Human rights advocates have widely condemned the Taliban’s treatment of women, describing its policies as oppressive and misogynistic. The international community, including numerous Muslim nations, has repeatedly urged the Taliban to reverse their bans on women’s work and education.
