Malala Yousafzai

First, secondary schools. Then universities. Then work, movement, and autonomy. Now: a girl's silence can be used as a consent to marriage. Step by step, the Taliban has built a system designed to dominate every aspect of women's and girls' lives. When exclusion is written into law, it stops being a rights violation. It becomes institutionalized domination. Afghan women are leading the charge to demand accountability, justice and an end to gender apartheid.

A privilege to welcome @Malala to Scotland and to Bute House today. We stand together in calling for gender apartheid to be recognised as a crime under international law. Scotland firmly rejects the institutionalised oppression of women and girls in Afghanistan.

Nobel laureate @Malala Yousafzai thought changing the world would be easy — and then she came face-to-face with reality. In this first talk from #TED2026, she shares 3 lessons she learned about working for the future you want, even when hope feels lost: t.ted.com/5TL7wuQ

Malala Fund has always been carried forward by incredible people, each helping shape our mission. I’m grateful to @lenalfi for all she has built over the last few years and excited to welcome @nabilaaguele as Malala Fund’s next CEO. Nabila is dedicated, thoughtful and deeply committed to the girls we serve. From leading our work in Nigeria, she brings both vision and action to everything she does… and she’s always prepared, down to the extra jackets to keep our team warm when needed ❤️ I know she will accomplish so much in this next chapter as we continue working to ensure every girl can access 12 years of free, safe, quality education. The future of @malalafund is in excellent hands 💫

I had the privilege to share my solidarity with the Palestinian people in a meeting with Ambassadors Riyad Mansour and Majed Bamya, and Senior Advisor Sahar Salem at the Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine to the United Nations. The ongoing Israeli genocide has destroyed or damaged every single school in Gaza. Places where children gathered, asked questions, made friends and imagined their futures no longer exist. The scale of destruction demands accountability and justice. And Israel is still blocking books and school supplies from entering Gaza, alongside other essential items like water, food and medicine — threatening the survival of an entire generation. Malala Fund will continue to support organisations responding to the crisis. We stand with local leaders working to help girls learn, rebuild their communities and shape their own futures.

Today at the UN, I spoke about a hard truth: True justice does not defend the humanity of children in one place and ignore it in another. I am devastated for families in Iran whose daughters left for school and did not return home. For parents in Gaza who buried their children beneath the rubble of their classrooms. For Afghan girls living under the brutal Taliban regime for nearly five years. The Taliban have built a system that removes women and girls from education, work and public life. This is gender apartheid, and it is time for the world to recognise it and act to end it. Speeches do not protect girls. But law, accountability and political courage can. malala.org/news-and-voice…

Today, @Malala is speaking at the UN. For 13 years, she has called for justice in that hall. Yet women and girls continue to suffer around the world, and children are dying without accountability. Justice cannot be selective. How long will international law lag behind injustice? WATCH LIVE | MARCH 9 | 9AM ET webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1u/k…

They were girls who went to school to learn, with hopes and dreams for their future. Today, their lives were brutally cut short. I am heartbroken and appalled by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, including reports that a girls’ school in southern Iran was hit, resulting in the injury and death of many girls. The killing of civilians, especially children, is unconscionable, and I condemn it unequivocally. My heart is with the children, families and communities affected by escalation across the region. I stand firmly against violence and the targeting of schools and civilians. I call for the escalation of violence across the region to end. Justice and accountability must follow. All states and parties must uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and safeguard schools. Every child deserves to live and learn in peace.

In Nigeria, 1 in 3 girls is married before 18. In the northeast & northwest, it's over 50%. Amina pushed back against family pressure to marry — but millions of girls don't get that choice. This is a policy problem with a proven solution: education. When girls complete secondary school, marriage is delayed by years. That's why we're backing a youth-led coalition pushing governments to implement policies that keep girls learning.

Learn more and take action: narges.foundation/freenarges/ #FreeNarges

I stand in solidarity with Narges Mohammadi, a tireless fighter for women, human rights and freedom in Iran. She has endured horrific violence in detention and her health is at serious risk. Now, after another sham trial, she faces more than 17 years in prison. But Narges continues to show extraordinary courage in the face of repression. I stand in support of the movement for justice — for her and for all political prisoners in Iran who have been silenced for speaking out.

I am horrified by the attack on a Shia mosque in Islamabad during Friday prayers — an attack on our shared humanity, faith and values. Targeting innocent worshippers and civilians is a heinous and cowardly crime. My heart goes out to all the victims, the injured and their families.

The Taliban’s new Criminal Procedure Code is a further escalation in the systematic repression of women and girls in Afghanistan. This is gender apartheid — laws designed to control, punish and exclude women and girls from public life. 🔗Read our full statement: mala.la/4bsaUtO

🇵🇰 PAKISTAN: Amnesty International has issued an Urgent Action calling for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights lawyers Imaan Mazari and Hadi Ali Chattha, each sentenced to 10 years in prison over social media posts labelled “anti-state”. Since their arrest on 23 January, they have been denied access to their families and lawyers. Imaan and Hadi are being punished solely for defending human rights. Their convictions must be quashed. ✊ Stand with Imaan and Hadi. 📢 Raise your voice. 👉 Take action NOW: amnesty.org/en/documents/a… #ReleaseImaanAndHadi

It is deeply disturbing to me that women and civil society activists in Pakistan can be arrested and sentenced to more than ten years in prison over social media posts. This is a violation of fundamental human rights and a clear departure from our Founders’ vision. I stand with Pakistani women activists and the civil society in demanding justice from our laws, institutions and power structures. Justice must flow to the people, especially the most vulnerable and those who stand with them.

This International Day of Education, @UNESCO is highlighting the power of youth to co-create the future of education. We’re proud to trust and invest in young women who are turning girls’ rights into real-world change: policy that’s enforceable, financing that’s predictable, and accountability that lasts. Turning promises into reality takes all of us: partner with youth, back proven solutions, and ensure commitments are delivered.

The protests in Iran cannot be separated from the long-standing, state-imposed restrictions on girls’ and women’s autonomy, in all aspects of public life including education. Iranian girls, like girls everywhere, demand a life with dignity. The people of Iran have long warned about this repression, at great personal risk, and their voices have been silenced for decades. These restrictions exist within a wider system of gendered control shaped by segregation, surveillance, and punishment — one that limits freedom, choice, and safety far beyond the classroom. They demand their voices be heard and the right to determine their political future. That future must be driven by the Iranian people, and include the leadership of Iranian women and girls — not external forces or oppressive regimes. I stand with the people and girls of Iran in their call for freedom and dignity. They deserve to determine their own future.

The arrest of Greta Thunberg for peacefully opposing genocide and supporting those on hunger strike is wrongful and disturbing. This is yet another shocking example of the UK’s broad terrorism laws being used to target those exercising their right to freedom of expression and assembly rights. Reports that Palestine Action activists on hunger strike have been hospitalised due to seriously deteriorating health send chills down the spine. The Government should agree to meet their representatives whilst prosecutors must take steps to end this excessively lengthy pre-trial detention.

Narges Mohammadi dares to demand freedom for Iranian women — and for that she has been arrested yet again by authorities in Iran. I stand in solidarity with her and join the call for her immediate release.