Malala Yousafzai, girls’ education activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, said the systematic exclusion of women and girls in Afghanistan should be recognized as “gender apartheid.” Speaking at the 70th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women on International Women’s Day, she urged world leaders to stand with Afghan girls and respond to humanitarian crises in countries including Iran, Gaza, and Afghanistan. Malala said that since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, girls have been barred from secondary schools and universities, while many women are restricted from working, traveling without a male guardian, and speaking in some public spaces. She called on the international community to recognize “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan as an international crime and stressed that sympathy alone is not enough, urging global leaders to move from compassion to accountability.
