Activist Malala Yousafzai Calls For The World To Guarantee The Protection Of Women In Afghanistan

Malala Yousafzai (Source: Antara)

JAKARTA - Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai on Friday called on the world to ensure the protection of women's rights in Afghanistan after the country was taken over by the Taliban. "We cannot compromise on protecting women's rights and protecting human dignity," Malala told a panel on children's education. Afghan women on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA. As countries and organizations began to take a stand against the Taliban, the 24-year-old expressed concern the group would impose tougher rules on women in Afghanistan as they did when he first came to power 20 years ago. Since then, employment and education opportunities for Afghan women have greatly expanded. " said Malala, who joined during the UN session via video.Malala survived a bullet the Taliban fired in her head in 2012 when she was 15 years old. A number of Taliban members targeted the Pakistani education activist because of her courage to speak out about education for girls.

The attack on Malala sparked outrage in Pakistan and internationally. Several world leaders have pledged to fight for the rights of Afghan women and girls at the annual UN meeting this week, but it is unclear how they will do so. Concerns over women's rights in Afghanistan have increased since the Taliban took power in August, 20 years after they was ousted from power by Western forces following the September 11, 2001 attacks on the US.

The Taliban say they have changed since the 1996-2001 government, when they banned women from leaving their homes without male relatives.

The Taliban raised doubts about how much they would respect women's rights when the group said last week it would open secondary schools for boys, but not for girls. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the Taliban's desire for international recognition was the only global leverage to pressure an inclusive and rights-respecting government, especially for women, in Afghanistan. Among those speaking at the UN about the plight of Afghan women and girls were EU Council President Charles Michel and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez "No society, which allows only half of its population to move forward and deliberately makes the other half backward, will last forever," Sanchez said.