Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai to visit native Pakistan for girls’ summit

AFP | Islamabad

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Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai will attend an international summit on girls’ education hosted by her native Pakistan, where she was nearly killed by militants as a schoolgirl.

Yousafzai was evacuated from the country in 2012 after being shot by the Pakistan Taliban, who were enraged by her activism, and she has returned to the country only a handful of times since.

A spokesperson for the Malala Fund charity confirmed Yousafzai will appear in person at the summit, which will focus on education in Islamic nations.

“I am excited to join Muslim leaders from around the world for a critical conference on girls’ education,” she said yesterday in a post on X.

“On Sunday, I will speak about protecting rights for all girls to go to school, and why leaders must hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against Afghan women & girls.”

Pakistan’s education minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said the Taliban government have been invited to attend, however officials from the neighbouring country have not responded to AFP requests for comment.

Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls and women are banned from going to school and university.

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban government has imposed an austere version of Islamic law which the United Nations has called “gender apartheid”.

Girls are only allowed to attend primary school, while women are largely restricted to working in segregated environments in health or education.

The Taliban administration claims that Islamic law “guarantees” the rights of Afghan men and women.