Taliban skips summit on Muslim girls’ education in Pakistan

The Taliban in Afghanistan has declined to attend a global summit on Muslim girls’ education hosted by Pakistan.

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, its government has excluded girls from education beyond sixth grade.(AP)

Pakistan’s education minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui has said that an invitation was sent to the Taliban government in Afghanistan but nobody turned up.

“We had extended an invitation to Afghanistan, but no one from the Afghan government was at the conference,” the country’s education minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui told AFP.

The summit has brought together education leaders from Muslim-majority countries, but has been snubbed by Pakistan’s neighbour Afghanistan — the only country in the world where girls’ are banned from school.

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In his opening remarks at the summit, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that denying education to girls is tantamount to denying their voice and their choice.

“The Muslim world including Pakistan faces significant challenges in ensuring equitable access to education for girls,” Sharif said. “Denying education to girls is tantamount to denying their voice and their choice, while depriving them of their right to a bright future.”

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, its government has excluded girls from education beyond sixth grade. They have also barred women from many jobs and most public spaces.

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The regime has also mandated that women wear full-body coverings, including face veils, when in public. They are also prohibited from praying aloud in the presence of each other.

Malala Yousafzai attends conference

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has also arrived in Pakistan to attend the global summit on girls’ education in the Islamic world. She is due to address the summit on Sunday.

The education activist was shot by the Pakistan Taliban militants in 2012 when she was a schoolgirl, and has returned to the country only a handful of times since.

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“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 & girls,” she posted on social media platform X on Friday.