Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai denounced Afghanistan’s practices towards women at the International Conference on the Education of Young Girls in Muslim Communities in Pakistan. At the end of the summit, a 17-point declaration was signed in defense of female education.
Islamabad (/Agencies) – Malala Yousafzai called on the leaders of Muslim-majority countries to delegitimize the Taliban government of Afghanistan and oppose and question the repressive policies imposed on women and girls. “There is nothing Islamic” about prohibiting education, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said yesterday at the International Conference on the Education of Girls in Muslim Communities that took place in Pakistan.
Malala, now 27, was the victim of an attack by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012, who attacked her for her speeches in favor of female education. Since then he has lived in the United Kingdom and has rarely returned to his home country.
During yesterday’s conference, promoted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Pakistani government and the Muslim World League, Malala reiterated that the Taliban government has created “a system of gender apartheid”, and punishes “women and girls who dare to break their repressive laws by beating, arresting and assaulting them.” The Taliban, he added, mask “their crimes with cultural and religious justifications,” but in reality they go “against everything our religion represents.”
Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistan’s armed groups, formally separate but sharing ideology with their Afghan “cousins”, have increased the number of attacks and violent actions, with the “objective of also creating in Pakistan an Islamic Emirate”.
Malala Yousafzai recalled that the Taliban did not respect their own initial statements to admit girls to schools after establishing an “Islamic” curriculum. On the contrary, last month women were also prohibited from training in health professions (the only alternative left to women to pursue university studies), with the aim of “eliminating women and young people from all aspects of public life and erase them from society,” the Nobel Prize winner continued.
In her speech, Malala recalled that also in Pakistan there are 12.5 million female adolescents who do not go to school: “There is still a huge amount of work to be done so that all young Pakistani girls can have access to education,” she stated. . At the same time, he denounced the atrocities committed by Israel in Gaza: “Israel has decimated the educational system. “They bombed all the universities, destroyed 90% of the schools and indiscriminately attacked civilians who were taking refuge in their buildings.”
The conference concluded with the 17-point “Islamabad Declaration,” which stated that girls’ education is not only a “religious obligation,” but also a social necessity: “It is a fundamental right protected by law.” divine, imposed by Islamic teachings, consolidated by international charters and well established by national Constitutions,” says the statement, which, on the contrary, condemns “extremist ideologies, fatwas and opinions based on cultural norms and models.” contrary to female education. “These actions constitute a serious abuse of religious principles to legitimize policies of deprivation and exclusion,” the document continues.
It is also stated that anyone who rejects or opposes Islamic religious principles in matters of education must be repudiated: “It is essential to disqualify their ideology, whether it is an individual, an institution or a public or private entity.” And he continues: “It is time to put an end to the distortion of Islam and the violation of women’s rights,” and invites this message to be spread in religion classes in madrasas and in Friday sermons.
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