By Ziauddin Yousafzai

Why am I so passionate about education? Why do I strongly believe in the power of education? Why did Malala and I stand up for the right of education in Swat, Pakistan, when the Taliban banned girls’ education? What makes me so worried about girls' education in Afghanistan? Why do I want to see every girl on this planet have access to free, safe and quality education?

The one and simple answer to all these questions is that in the short span of my life I have seen the helplessness of uneducated women and girls and the power and strength of women and girls who have received an education.

I was born in Shangla, one of the most underdeveloped districts in the north-west of Pakistan. I grew up with five sisters and an older brother in a male dominated society and in a traditional patriarchal family. I ate better food, wore better clothes and had more pairs of shoes than my five sisters. Being a boy I enjoyed the privileges of my gender.

The worst discrimination that my sisters endured was the deprivation of education. While I pursued my dreams in a classroom, my five sisters were made to stay at home and only dream of becoming wives, mothers and grandmothers. My parents had many big dreams for their younger boy (me) but for their five girls their only dream was to get them married as early as possible. But I do not blame my parents for this attitude because the social norm at the time was that girls were not supposed to be learning at school. Education helped me to break the strong chains of patriarchy and it transformed me into a feminist father long before I knew the word feminism.

I never saw my mother’s name on a doctor’s prescription. If I accompanied her to the doctor’s clinic she was referred to as the “mother of Ziauddin''. If my father escorted her she became the “wife of Ruhul Amin”. I wanted to change this anonymity and invisibility of women.

I named my daughter after the legendary Pakhtun/Afghan heroine, Malalai of Maiwand. I wished that she would be known by her own name (never considering that I will be referred to as Malala’s father one day). Two weeks after Malala’s birth my cousin brought me our family tree. And for the first time, I wrote a girl's name in the long list of men tracing back eight generations. But what really made Malala’s life different from my sisters’ lives was her access to a quality education.

Education is a phenomenon of transition from weakness to strength, from helplessness to capability and from anonymity to identity. It allows freedom and emancipation from gender apartheid. And in Malala, I saw the empowerment held in education. However, when the Taliban banned girls’ education in the Swat valley,  I and few other education activists spoke up against it. But Malala’s voice was the most powerful one. Her voice spread like a crescendo all over the country. She became the most influential female activist in Pakistan.

The Taliban were scared of Malala’s voice and took it as threat to their ideology. That’s why they attempted to silence her voice and consequently silence my voice.

Both religiously and culturally the Taliban are the worst misogynists I have ever seen in my life. Their so-called Emirate is based and built on gender apartheid, discrimination, segregation, exploitation and the dehumanisation of women and girls. After capturing Kabul they immediately eliminated the Ministry of Women Affairs and replaced it with the Ministry of Vice and Virtue, a ministry that is effectively used to disempower women and curb their human rights and freedom. On September 17, 2021, the Taliban’s Ministry of Education closed all girls’ secondary schools, banning girls’ education for those over Grade 6. Few weeks later they restricted women from travelling without a male chaperone and then also banned women from visiting public parks with male chaperones.

While the UN, human rights organisations and women rights activists inside Afghanistan and outside of Afghanistan were demanding the re-opening of secondary schools, Afghan girls were anxiously waiting to re-enter their classrooms. The Taliban turned a deaf ear to such voices and added salt to the wound as they then banned girls from going to universities as well. Furthermore, two months ago, they stopped Afghan women from working in national and international NGOs. Their latest edict stopping Afghan women from working in the UN has been condemned and criticised by the international community.

Here it is important to remember that the first word revealed to the Holy Prophet was the word “Iqra” which translates to read. Allah says “who taught by the pen - taught man which he knew not”. So Islam promotes reading, writing, knowledge and research. The only prayer Allah recommended to the Holy Prophet is “O my Lord advance me in knowledge”.

There are 1.9 billion Muslims and they do not agree with the Taliban's verdict on girls’ education. Prominent religious scholars from around the Muslim world and even within Afghanistan have termed the ban on girls’ education as un-Islamic.

During the Doha peace negotiations, the Taliban repeatedly assured the international community that they will be open to an inclusive government and will respect women’s rights. Some Taliban leaders even promised that they would include women in their cabinet. Political analysts became overly-optimistic and referred to these people as Taliban 2.0. But unfortunately, this all proved to be a bluff.

I remember after Kabul fell some brave education activists were determined not to leave Afghanistan and continue their work in the country. They were expecting some level of decency from Taliban 2.0 but, alas, soon they were disillusioned. The numerous coercions and restrictions they faced, forced them to leave the country. Thousands of educated women and men are extremely angry and determined to get back to their old lives of learning, working and freedom.

While the Taliban pay no heed to the calls of the international community who are demanding the  reopening of girls’ schools, they are bent on suppressing and silencing every sane voice that demands women’s right to education, work and freedom. Recently they have arrested and detained Matiullah Wesa, Yaqoot Mandegar, Malalai Hashemi, Raqiya Sayee, and Fatima Mohammadi. This crackdown on such brave individuals is surely a sign of escalation within the Taliban’s oppression of girls’ education and women rights.

Lastly, I cannot forget the viral story of the headmistress who was working to raise a new generation of girls through  her high school and education work but was recently pictured polishing shoes in the streets of Kabul. I wish I could end my article with a note of hope but what I see right now in Afghanistan is very bleak and dark. Millions of girls are not allowed to attend schools and universities just because they are girls. The most peaceful and pacifist activists like Matiullah are imprisoned and their only crime is lighting the candle of education. Finally, empathise with those Afghan girls living under Taliban rule whose present reality is one of no education, no work and no freedom.

Ziauddin Yousafzai is an activist and educator. He is the father of Nobel laureate, Malala Yousafzai. Ziauddin served as a teacher and school administrator in his home country of Pakistan. As co-founder of Malala Fund, he advocates for every girl’s right to 12 years of free, safe, quality education.

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