ISLAMABAD: 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 on Friday in a post on social media platform 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 told AFP the Taliban government in Afghanistan has been invited to attend, although Islamabad has not received a response.
“Nevertheless, representatives from various organisations dedicated to girls’ education in Afghanistan will be participating in the event,” he said. 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 there has imposed an austere version of Islamic law that 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.
Focus on Muslim world
The two-day summit backed by the Saudi Arabia-based Muslim World League will be held in the Pakistani capital on Saturday and Sunday and opened by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
It brings together ministers, ambassadors and religious scholars from 44 countries, as well as representatives from the UN and World Bank.
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