Worried, exhausted, not sleeping well. Malala Yousafzai said this has been the case since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan, neighboring her home country, Pakistan.
The activist for the education of girls, victim of an attack by this fundamentalist group at the age of 14 and became at 17 the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, spoke on Thursday (26) on the crisis in Afghanistan in an event promoted by the Brazilian financial consulting firm XP.
At his side, his father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, who after the assault on his daughter took refuge with his family in the United Kingdom. Not long before, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton gave a talk in which she also addressed the crisis in Afghanistan, among other issues.
“We are all worried and exhausted by these conflicts. If we who look from the outside are like that, imagine the civilians who are in Afghanistan, the women, the children. This war has been going on for so many years that we don’t even know how it all started anymore, ”said Malala.
She said she hoped the Taliban would keep their promises to enable girls’ and women’s education – unlike what they did in her other government 20 years ago – but that it is hard to believe.
“The message is not very clear. Sometimes they say that women will have access to work and education, but it is not known which law they will follow, ”she said. “They stay there with these weapons, people are stuck at home, worried about the future because they have experienced it in the past. How can they trust the very people who took away their rights? “
Malala said she and other activists were trying to act on the Afghan crisis and that the priority now was to safely evacuate local activists. Malala advocated opening borders and involving more countries in welcoming refugees.
“Some, like Canada and the UK, have signed on to this pledge. Others are more stingy and don’t want to help. We can’t be selfish now, we have to save lives. You can’t let things get to our faces without helping. And she urged governments to act as soon as possible. “We don’t just believe in promises, we want action to happen.”
Malala also spoke about the state of education around the world during the pandemic – drawing attention to the suspension of classes for millions of children – and his health after the attack he suffered. Nine years later, she is still undergoing surgery and has just recovered from an operation.
“It’s a long journey. There is always something to fix: facial surgery, titanium plate, there was so much to do. But at this moment I no longer think of myself, that I am blessed. Think of all those who do not have these opportunities for rehabilitation, to live in a safe place, to study. It is time to think about the world we live in, to support each other, to fight for peace.