Malala Slams EU-Taliban Talks, Says Dialogue Must Start With 'Rights Of Afghan Women, Girls'

Last Updated:June 24, 2026, 19:22 IST

Malala said she was “shaken and deeply disturbed” by EU’s decision to engage with Taliban, warning that it normalises a regime that has “erased women and girls from public life.”

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai has sharply criticised the European Union for hosting a Taliban delegation in Brussels for talks, saying that any dialogue with the regime must include the “rights of Afghan women and girls."

In a video shared on X Tuesday, Malala said she was “shaken and deeply disturbed" by the EU’s decision to engage with Taliban officials, warning that it normalises a regime that has “erased women and girls from public life."

“This is the same Taliban that banned girls from secondary schools and forced them into marriage. The same Taliban that, earlier this month, arrested dozens of women in Herat for how they were dressed. The same Taliban that detains, beats and executes women who dare to speak out or break their rules," she said in the video.

The Nobel laureate further said that the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women amounts to “gender apartheid", arguing that the regime has effectively erased women and girls from public life through its policies.

“Europe must not legitimise a regime responsible for one of the worst human rights crises in the world," she added. “Any engagement with the Taliban must begin and end with the rights of Afghan women and girls."

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