Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai, and the First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, met today to advance efforts to recognise gender apartheid as a crime under international law and defend the rights of women and girls worldwide.
Meeting at Bute House in Edinburgh, they discussed the Taliban’s systematic exclusion of millions of women and girls from education, employment and public life in Afghanistan -- and the growing international campaign to recognise gender apartheid. Both leaders highlighted the leadership of Afghan women and the urgent need for coordinated legal, political and global action to ensure accountability.
In 2021, the Scottish Government supported 19 female Afghan medical students to complete their studies at universities in Scotland after they were banned from doing so in Afghanistan. The Scottish Government amended student funding legislation to ensure the women could be treated as home students and receive free tuition and cost of living support.
Scotland will continue to stand in solidarity with those facing oppression and to support efforts that ensure their voices are heard and their rights defended.
Malala Yousafzai said:
“I want to thank Scotland for standing by Afghan girls and their right to go to school. When the world acknowledges that systematic denial of women’s rights is a crime, we can begin to hold the Taliban and their sympathisers accountable. I hope more leaders will follow the First Minister and recognise gender apartheid as a crime against humanity.”
John Swinney, First Minister of Scotland, said:
"It is my privilege to welcome Malala Yousafzai to Scotland, and to lend my support to the international campaign to promote the recognition of gender apartheid as a crime under international law.
“It is clear that the Taliban is undertaking an institutionalised system of systematic oppression of girls and women in Afghanistan, and this demands urgent attention and action, as any society which strips women and girls of rights relating to education, employment, freedom of speech and political participation must not be allowed to thrive.
It is vital that the international community stands in solidarity and mobilises support for girls’ right to education in Afghanistan, and provides tangible support to ensure that their voices are amplified and their stories are told.
I was very proud that the Scottish Government was able to support nineteen female Afghan medical students to come to Scotland to complete their degrees after they were banned from doing so by the authorities in Afghanistan.
Scotland will continue to play its part by standing against human rights abuses, and welcoming people from across the world who are fleeing oppression.”