Islamabad, January 11, 2025: Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai expressed her joy and gratitude as she returned to Pakistan after more than two years to attend a two-day global conference on girls’ education in Islamabad as a special guest.
“I’m truly honoured, overwhelmed, and happy to be back in Pakistan,” Malala said upon arriving at the conference. This marks her third visit to the country since the 2012 attack by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which targeted her for her advocacy of girls’ education.
The summit brings together representatives from Muslim-majority countries, where millions of girls remain out of school due to socio-economic and cultural barriers. Malala is scheduled to address the gathering on Sunday, where she plans to speak about protecting the rights of all girls to access education and holding the Taliban accountable for their actions against Afghan women and girls.
“I will speak about protecting rights for all girls to go to school and why leaders must hold the Taliban accountable for their crimes against Afghan women and girls,” Malala posted on the social media platform X on Friday.
Federal Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui revealed that the Taliban government in Afghanistan had been invited to participate in the summit, but no response has been received. Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls and women are banned from attending school and university.
Since their return to power in 2021, the Taliban regime in Kabul has imposed harsh restrictions on women’s rights, with the United Nations describing their policies as “gender apartheid.”
Meanwhile, Pakistan grapples with its own education crisis, with over 26 million children—mostly from underprivileged backgrounds—out of school. This figure, one of the highest in the world, reflects deep-rooted socio-economic challenges.
Malala rose to global prominence after surviving a TTP attack on her school bus in Swat Valley in 2012. Evacuated to the United Kingdom for life-saving treatment, she has since become a tireless advocate for girls’ education, earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014 at the age of 17—the youngest recipient in history.
Malala last visited Pakistan in 2022 to raise awareness about the devastating floods caused by climate change. Her first return to the country was in 2018, more than five years after she was forced to leave following the attack.
Her participation in this summit underscores her ongoing commitment to advancing education for girls in the face of adversity.
