Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has returned to Pakistan after more than two years to attend a two-day global conference on girls’ education in Islamabad, where she is a special guest.
On her third visit to the country, Malala shared her excitement: “I’m truly honoured, overwhelmed, and happy to be back in Pakistan,” she said. Malala, who was shot by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in 2012 while she was a schoolgirl, has only visited Pakistan a few times since the attack.
The conference, which focuses on the education of girls in Muslim-majority countries, highlights the severe educational disparities faced by millions of girls. Malala is scheduled to address the summit on Sunday, where she plans to speak about the importance of ensuring every girl has the right to education. She also intends to hold the Taliban accountable for their actions against Afghan women and girls.
Federal Education Minister Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui confirmed that the Taliban government in Afghanistan had been invited to the summit, though Pakistan has not yet received a response. Afghanistan remains the only country where girls and women are banned from attending school or university. Since the Taliban returned to power in 2021, they have implemented harsh policies that have drawn widespread condemnation as “gender apartheid” from the United Nations.
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Pakistan itself is grappling with a massive education crisis, with over 26 million children out of school, primarily due to poverty. This puts Pakistan among the countries with the highest number of children excluded from education.
Malala became a global symbol of resilience and advocacy after surviving the 2012 TTP attack, later moving to the United Kingdom. She has since become a passionate advocate for girls’ education, earning the title of the youngest-ever Nobel Peace Prize winner at age 17.
Her previous visit to Pakistan was in 2022, when she and her parents traveled to flood-affected areas to raise international awareness about the devastation caused by climate change. Her first trip back to Pakistan after the attack occurred in March 2018, more than five years after she left the country.
