Malala Yousafzai, Nobel laureate and human rights activist, has called on world leaders not to forget the women and girls of Afghanistan and to take action to end the restrictions and repression against them.

Yousafzai made these remarks on Monday, the 21st of September, at a meeting about the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

She said that Afghan women, despite widespread restrictions and exclusion from public life, continue to resist and strive for access to education.

Yousafzai added that five years of Taliban restrictions have deprived a generation of Afghan girls of educational opportunities and their future.

She also remembered the girls who continue their education in secret and underground schools.

This human rights activist has called on the international community to prioritize the situation of women and girls in Afghanistan and to take action to hold accountable what she calls “gender apartheid.”