Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai called on world leaders to take immediate action to help Afghanistan, stating that she was deeply concerned about the escalating situation and the safety of women and girls in the country recently overtaken by the Taliban once more, reported Reuters.
In 2012, Yousafzai and two other girls were shot by the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan for Yousafzai's activism. They survived the assassination attempt, and the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan organization was internationally condemned. Yousafzai had been writing a blog for BBC about living under the Tehrik-i Taliban Pakistan's rule in her native town Swat Valley in Pakistan. She was 11 years old when she began to write the articles and wrote them under a pseudonym. The assassination attempt was in retaliation to her work.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight, Yousafzai said: "This is actually an urgent humanitarian crisis right now that we need to provide our help and support."
She has been reportedly trying to reach various world leaders to protect the people of Afghanistan, adding that US President Joe Biden "has a lot to do" and should "take a bold step" to help Afghans.
Yousafzai told BBC Newsnight: "I am deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan right now, especially about the safety of women and girls there."
"I had the opportunity to talk to a few activists in Afghanistan, including women's rights activists, and they are sharing their concern that they are not sure what their life is going to be like."
She added that she has reached out to Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, sending him a letter asking him to admit Afghan refugees in the country. She stipulated that it must be ensured that all refugee children "have access to education, have access to safety and protection, that their futures are not lost."
After the failed assassination attempt in 2012, Yousafzai received treatment from the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, UK. She continued her activism from there, receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her works in 2014. She graduated from Oxford University in 2020 after procuring a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics.