It’s been 1000 days since the Taliban banned girls’ secondary education. Afghan women and girls are living under gender apartheid — but they are fighting back. That's why Malala Fund is supporting orgs working to keep girls learning in Afghanistan with $1.5M in new funding.

“This is a systematic oppression. Afghan women’s rights activists are calling it a gender apartheid… We should not be silent. We should not look away.”

Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai speaking to me on day 1,000 of Afghan teenage girls being banned from school.

Codifying gender apartheid under international law will help hold the Taliban accountable & ensure justice for girls & women.

But what is gender apartheid & how is it relevant to Afghanistan? Sahar Halaimzai breaks it down.

Grateful for champions like Ziauddin Yousafzai who quite literally have not let a day go by without reminding the world of the Taliban's ban on girls' secondary education.

May we all heed the call of 🇦🇫 women + girls and hold the Taliban to account for their #genderapartheid regime.

Even broken clocks are right twice a day. But I don’t want us to lose sight of the fact that we should not have wait with bated breath for courts to decide our reproductive futures. This was always about politics, never science. Mifepristone is safe and abortion is health care.

I still see fresh, young forces in Afghanistan who have the courage to stand up to the Taliban.These forces include women, girls, and men. I believe they need support to overcome the oppressive narratives of the Taliban. ⁦⁦⁦The Diplomat⁩ thediplomat.com/2024/06/zahra-…

The UN says more than 10 million people in Sudan have now fled their homes as war continues apnews.com/article/un-sud…

UN: Israel-caused Famine to encompass all Gaza by July, killing as many as 19,800 a Month juancole.com/2024/06/israel… via Juan Cole

Since October, I have been struck by how many experts and observers reach for superlatives to describe what's happening in Gaza. I compiled a list of such statements, and an alarming narrative emerged. In n+1

nplusonemag.com/online-only/on…

In Turkey, India and elsewhere, where some feared authoritarian leaders would consolidate power, democracy has proved surprisingly resilient. The common thread between these global elections is a defiant shake-up of the status quo. nyti.ms/3Xbi8eH

1/ As the UN prepares to convene the next special envoys meeting in Doha, we stand in unwavering solidarity with the courageous women of Afghanistan who continue to fight for their rights and their voices to be heard.

A beautifully recounted, blisteringly sad tale of horror, bravery and resilience as told by colleague Mark Stone : just one incident repeated in all its horrifying rawness and pain in multiple ways a million times over in #Gaza . Imagine that

⭐Apolitical’s 50 Gender Equality Gamechangers list is live!⭐ Start your day with some inspiration as we celebrate public servants, and people working closely with government, to make a real difference to #genderequality & gender-equitable societies.💫 apolitical.co/list/en/apolit…

Huge congratulations, Halla Tomasdottir! Iceland, and the world, are lucky to have such a strategic champion for equity and sustainability in this role 🇮🇸 💪

Alternate headline: some member states + United Nations leaders appear set to sell out Afghan women and girls, ignoring the centrality of their rights in favor of 'financial and banking-related problems, alternative livelihoods for poppy growers, climate change impacts on the country.' 😡

So much guilty.

The 3rd attack on girls' schools in northern Pakistan in under a month should be a 5 alarm fire demanding our collective attention 🚨
arabnews.pk/node/2519201/p…

“[The Taliban] only want darkness for women because they know if women were to learn, they would fight for themselves.”

Sister duo Zahra & Manizha Abbasi are using photography to share what life is like under Taliban rule — & showcase Afghan women & girls’ resilience.👇🏾

Glad to see Melinda start to test different approaches, incl $20m unrestricted seed funds to other leaders + a $250m open call for grassroots orgs coming soon. In a time of intense need domestically + globally, hope to see more of this flexibility as she expands her giving!

These are the children who were living in the tents before Israeli airstrikes burned them to the ground in Rafah.

They don’t know which children are still alive from this video.