Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has said that inviting the Taliban to Brussels for discussions on migration sends a dangerous message: that a regime can oppress women and girls while still being accepted as a diplomatic partner.
In a post on X on Monday night, June 15, Yousafzai said Europe should not consider making deals with a regime responsible for one of the world’s worst human rights crises.
She said the Taliban’s system of gender apartheid has excluded women and girls from public life, education, employment, and freedom of movement, while also forcing them into child and forced marriages.
“This is the same regime that last week detained at least 30 women and girls in Herat over their clothing, opened fire on people protesting the arrests, killed a child, and injured others,” she wrote.
The European Union, however, has confirmed that it invited a Taliban delegation to Brussels for talks on Afghan migration.