Malala Yousafzai urges global action on Afghan women's rights

Malala Yousafzai and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee have issued urgent calls for the international community to maintain focus on the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan. Speaking at an event at the United Nations headquarters, Yousafzai warned against normalizing relations with the Taliban, stating, “We should not give them any recognition, and Afghan women have to be in those rooms where decisions about their future are made.”

Since the Taliban returned to power in August 2021, women and girls in Afghanistan have faced systematic rollbacks of their rights, including bans on secondary and university education, restrictions on employment, and limitations on movement and public participation.

During the event, McEntee criticized the European Union for hosting a Taliban delegation in Brussels earlier this year. While the European Commission described the meeting as “technical,” McEntee argued that such engagement “normalises” the repressive regime and expressed that the visit should not have occurred.