Malala Yousafzai urges Muslim leaders to challenge the Afghan Taliban government and its repressive policies against girls and women.

“Simply put, the Taliban in Afghanistan do not see women as human beings,” she told the International Summit on Girls’ Education in Islamic Countries, hosted by Pakistan.

Ms Yousafzai told Muslim leaders that the Taliban’s policies, which include banning female education and preventing women from working, “have no Islamic meaning”.

The 27-year-old was evacuated from Pakistan at the age of 15 after being shot in the head by a Pakistani Taliban gunman for speaking out about girls’ education.

Speaking at a conference in Islamabad on Sunday, the Nobel Peace Prize winner said she felt “overwhelmed and happy” to be back in her home country. She has returned to Pakistan only a few times since the 2012 attacks. Returning for the first time in 2018.

On Sunday, she said the Taliban government had once again established “gender apartheid.”

The Taliban, she said, “punish women and girls who dare to violate obscure laws by beating, detaining and injuring them.”

She added that the group “uses cultural and religious justifications to cover up their crimes” but in fact “goes against everything our faith stands for.”

The Taliban declined to respond to the BBC’s request for comment on the advocate’s remarks. They have previously said they respect women’s rights based on their interpretation of Afghan culture and Islamic law.

The group’s leader was invited by the Pakistani government and the Muslim World League to attend a summit hosted by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), but did not attend.

Attendees included dozens of ministers and academics from Muslim-majority countries who advocate for girls’ education.

Since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021, its government has not been officially recognized by any foreign government. Western powers say the group’s policies restricting women need to change.

Afghanistan is now the only country in the world that bars women and girls from secondary and higher education – approximately 1.5 million people are deliberately denied access.

The Taliban have repeatedly promised to re-enroll once a series of issues are resolved, including ensuring that the curriculum is “Islamic”. This hasn’t happened yet.

In December, women were also banned from midwifery and nurse training, effectively cutting off their last avenue for further education in the country.

Ms Yousafzai said girls’ education was at risk in several countries. In Gaza, she said, Israel “destroyed the entire education system.”

She urged those present to “call out the worst violations of girls’ right to education”, noting that crises in countries such as Afghanistan, Yemen and Sudan meant “girls’ entire futures are being stolen”.