(Washington) Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who survived a 2012 attack by the Pakistani Taliban, pleaded in Washington on Monday for the rights of girls and women in Afghanistan, especially in education, calling on the United States to do more to support them.
“Afghanistan is today the only country where girls do not have access to secondary education. They are not allowed to learn, ”said the 24-year-old woman, who works with Afghan girls and activists, alongside US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
“There is this message from them: they should have the right to work. They should be able to go to school, ”added the one who came with a letter from a 15-year-old Afghan woman to President Joe Biden.
This teenage girl, Sotodah, “writes that the more schools and universities remain closed to girls, the more it will cloud hopes for our future phase,” the activist said, reading the letter.
However, “girls’ education is a powerful tool for bringing about peace and security. If the girls don’t learn, Afghanistan will suffer too, ”continued Malala Yousafzai, still citing the letter.
“As a girl and as a human being, I need you to know that I have rights. Women and girls have rights. Afghans have the right to live in peace, to go to school and to play, ”she continued. “This is the message from Afghan girls today.”
High schools in Afghanistan, where the Taliban regained power this summer, have reopened for boys and male teachers. But the girls are still not allowed to take the lessons and the teachers are still not allowed to give them.
“We hope the United States, working with the UN, takes immediate action to ensure that girls are allowed to return to their schools as soon as possible, that women can return to work, and that all humanitarian aid necessary for education there to be available, ”called the young Pakistani woman.
Mr Blinken, whose country withdrew its troops from Afghanistan in chaos in August after 20 years of war, hailed her as “an inspiration” to women around the world, “someone who through his work, his efforts, really makes things happen ”.