Malala Yousafzai, a human rights activist who survived an attack by the Pakistani Taliban in 2012, argued for stronger US support for Afghan girls and women during a visit to Washington on Monday.
“Afghanistan is the only country in the world where girls do not have access to secondary education. They are not allowed to learn “In remarks while standing alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the 24-year-old, who works with female Afghan activists, stated.
“This is the message of Afghan girls right now: we want to see a world where all girls can have access to safe and quality education,” she added, while handing over a letter from a 15-year-old Afghan girl named Sotodah to President Joe Biden.
According to Yousafzai, Sotodah wrote in her letter that “the longer schools and universities remain closed to girls, the more it will shade hope for [their] future.”
“Girls’ education is a powerful tool for bringing peace and security,” Yousafzai continued as she read the letter, “and if girls don’t learn, Afghanistan will suffer as well.”
Secondary schools for boys have reopened in Afghanistan, where the Taliban reclaimed power this summer, and only men are permitted to teach.
“We hope that the United States, in collaboration with the UN, will take immediate action to ensure that girls can return to their schools as soon as possible,” Yousafzai said before her private meeting with Secretary Kerry.
Blinken, whose country hastily withdrew its troops from Afghanistan after 20 years of war, praised Yousafzai as “an inspiration to girls and women around the world” and someone who “is making a real difference by her work, by her efforts.”
