Afghanistan: Malala Yousafzai’s father condemns 'gender apartheid', anti-women policies

Father of Malala Yousafzai, Ziauddin Yousafzai, an international advocate for girls' education has condemned anti-women policies and "gender apartheid" in Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported.

Father of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai, has condemned anti-women policies and "gender apartheid" in Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported. Ziauddin Yousafzai the father of Malala, an international advocate for girls' education Yousafzai has declared support for the campaign by women's rights activists by sharing a post on his social media platform 'X' on the ninth day of a hunger strike by women's rights activists in Cologne, Germany.

He said, "We demand the world to recognize Afghanistan as a place where gender apartheid is prevalent." The post shared by Yousafzai is a picture of himself with his wife at an airport, in which they are holding a placard with hashtags reading "End Gender Apartheid" and "Let Afghan Girls Educate".

The campaign has been active for months now and is aiming to bring global attention to the issue. Although, nearly ten days ago, some of these activists started a hunger strike in Cologne, Germany, according to Khaama Press. However, Tamana Zaryab Paryani, a participant in the hunger strike was hospitalized on the ninth day of the strike due to worsening health.

On the fourth day of the strike, she raised her frustration and emphasized the world's failure to support Afghan women's rights and freedoms despite their struggle and suffering. Moreover, their hunger strike has gained international attention. A gender activist from Afghanistan has begun a hunger strike in Sweden in support of the activists in Germany. Adding to that, Afghan women refugees in Pakistan have also shown support for the strikers and have warned that more people will join the hunger strikes worldwide if the global community does not pay attention to their demands, reported Khaama Press.

German Foreign Ministry with a representative and a deputy of the regional parliament visited the hunger strikers yesterday after two of them were hospitalized. They further demanded them to end the hunger strike. Ziauddin Yousafzai has also joined the protesters and said, "We are going to the city of Cologne in Germany to stand alongside Tamana Zaryab Paryany and Zarmina Paryany, and other brave activists for the 12-day hunger strike. We demand the world to recognize Afghanistan as a place where gender apartheid is prevalent."

The term "gender apartheid" was first used by Afghanistan's acting permanent representative to the United Nations to highlight the severity of the situation in Afghanistan under the control of the Taliban. According to Khaama Press, a special rapporteur on human rights and a working group on discrimination against women and girls later wrote in their joint report of the situation of Afghan women and girls, noting that the policies of the Taliban would lead to "sexual violence," constituting a crime against humanity. (ANI)

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