ISLAMABAD: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai urged leaders on Sunday not to legitimise the Afghan Taliban government and to "show true leadership" over their assault on women's rights. "Do not legitimise them," she said at a summit focused on girls' education in Islamic nations being held in Pakistan's capital Islamabad.
"As Muslim leaders, now is the time to raise your voices, use your power. You can show true leadership. You can show true Islam," said 27-year-old Yousafzai. The two-day conference has brought together ministers and education officials from dozens of Muslim-majority countries, backed by the Muslim World League (MWL). Delegates from Afghanistan's Taliban government did not attend the event despite being invited, Pakistan Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said on Saturday.
"Simply put, the Taliban do not see women as human beings," Yousafzai told the conference. "They cloak their crimes in cultural and religious justification." Muhammad al Issa, MWL Secretary-General, on Saturday told the summit that "those who say that girls' education is un-Islamic are wrong".
Yousafzai also highlighted the impact of wars in Yemen, Sudan and Gaza on schooling. "In Gaza, Israel has decimated the entire education system," she said. "I will continue to call out Israel's violations of international law and human rights." - AFP
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