Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai said she was concerned that the Taliban’s block on girls’ education in Afghanistan will not be temporary, as claimed. Yousafzai, who was shot by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012 for campaigning for girls’ education, told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that “I’m afraid that this ban that they have announced right now that they’re calling temporary might not actually be temporary.”
A similar ban in 1996 “lasted for five years”, she pointed out. After seizing power in August, the hardline Islamist Taliban in September excluded girls from returning to secondary school while ordering boys back to class.
The Taliban have claimed they will allow girls to return once they have ensured security and stricter segregation under their interpretation of Islamic law — but many are sceptical. “We’re calling on the Taliban to immediately allow girls to have access to their complete education, we’re calling on G20 leaders and other world leaders to ensure that girls’ rights are protected in Afghanistan,” said Yousafzai. – AFP
