Malala Yousafzai said we can’t ‘just get into the politics’ behind Taliban takeover of Afghanistan

• Malala Yousafzai said we can’t “just get into the politics” behind the Taliban coup in Afghanistan.
• World leaders should focus on helping Afghan refugees and those displaced by the conflict, she said.
• Yousafzai survived a Taliban assassination attempt in 2012.
• See more stories on Insider’s business page.

Malala Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Laureate who survived a 2012 assassination attempt by the Taliban, said the world cannot “just get into the politics of what should have happened and what shouldn’t have happened” to prevent the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

Yousafzai spoke to BBC Newsnight on Monday, following the collapse of Kabul to Taliban forces after former Afghanistan President Ashraf Ghani fled the nation over the weekend.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner expressed deep concern for the well-being of Afghans still living in the country, namely for women who would be severely oppressed under the new regime.

The insurgent takeover prompted calls for international leaders to strengthen refugee-evacuation missions. In the US, President Joe Biden has faced bipartisan demands amid the fast-moving Afghan regime change.

Biden has responded to the calls by allocating $500 million, taken from the United States Emergency Refugee and Migration Assistance Fund, to be used “for the purpose of meeting unexpected urgent refugee and migration needs of refugees, victims of conflict, and other persons at risk as a result of the situation in Afghanistan, including applicants for Special Immigrant Visas.”

Republicans blamed Biden for the chaotic withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, crediting that for the Taliban’s return to power, while Democrats were quick to point to former President Donald Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for their role in Middle East relations.

Yousafzai said she believes that a discussion about the politics of the situation will happen “at some point,” she said “right now, we need to make sure that the people of Afghanistan are safe.”

“We have already seen news reports that many girls have been sent back from university, a lot of them have been asked to get married at age 15, 12,” she told BBC. “This is actually an urgent humanitarian crisis right now, that we need to provide our help and support.”

She urged countries to open their borders to Afghan refugees and displaced people, and to ensure that children and girls “have access to education, have access to safety and protection, that their futures are not lost

“Biden has a lot to do. President Biden has to take a bold step for the protection of the people of Afghanistan,” Yousafzai said.

She added: “The politics are deep, multifaceted, complicated, but what is really important is that we remember that the people who have suffered the most are the innocent civilians of Afghanistan.”