Malala fears Taliban will keep girls out of school

LONDON: Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai on Sunday said she was concerned that the Taliban’s block on girls’ education in Afghanistan will not be temporary, as claimed.

Yousafzai told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that “I’m afraid that this ban that they have announced right now that they’re calling temporary might not actually be temporary.” A similar ban in 1996 “lasted for five years”, she pointed out.

The Taliban have claimed they will allow girls to return once they have ensured security and stricter segregation under their interpretation of Islamic law.

“We’re calling on the Taliban to immediately allow girls to have access to their complete education, we’re calling on G20 leaders and other world leaders to ensure that girls’ rights are protected in Afghanistan,” said Yousafzai. The 24-year-old activist sent an open letter last month urging the ban be reversed.