No, Malala hasn’t been silent about the women in Afghanistan since the Taliban took control

In 2012, after the Taliban took control of her town in Pakistan and said girls could no longer go to school, Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by a masked gunman. 

She had advocated for girls’ rights to learn, and after recovering from her injuries, she’s continued that activism, winning a Nobel Prize and founding the Malala Fund, a charity that seeks to enable all girls to get an education.  

But a recent social media post accuses Yousafzai of "performative activism." 

"Malala, the girl who received a Nobel peace prize for standing against the Taliban, is the same girl who is silent about the cries of women and children suffering at the hands of the Taliban," the post says. 

A quick online search shows that’s wrong. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)

First, let’s look at her Twitter account. 

After not tweeting since July 27, she spoke out on Aug. 15, the day the Taliban took control in Kabul. 

"We watch in complete shock as Taliban takes control of Afghanistan," she tweeted." I am deeply worried about women, minorities and human rights advocates. Global, regional and local powers must call for an immediate ceasefire, provide urgent humanitarian aid and protect refugees and civilians." 

The next day, she thanked Norway’s prime minister "for allowing me to share concerns I am hearing from women in Afghanistan. I urge the Security Council to pass a resolution to protect Afghan women, girls and minorities." 

Featured Fact-check

Joe Biden

stated on August 27, 2008 in a speech at the Democratic National Convention in Denver

Three years ago, John McCain said, "Afghanistan — we don't read about it anymore in papers because it succeeded."

On BBC, she said, "We have to take some bold stances for the protect of women and girls, for the protection of minority groups and for peace and stability in that region." 

On Aug. 17, she spoke to journalist Christiane Amanpour during a CNN broadcast and said, "We stand with the women and girls of Afghanistan." 

In a guest essay that appeared in the New York Times that day, titled — "I survived the Taliban. I fear for my Afghan sisters" — she wrote: 

"When I was 15, the Taliban tried to kill me for speaking out about my right to go to school. … Afghan girls and young women are once again where I have been — in despair over the thought that they might never be allowed to see a classroom or hold a book again. Some members of the Taliban say they will not deny women and girls education or the right to work. But given the Taliban’s history of violently suppressing women’s rights, Afghan women’s fears are real. Already, we are hearing reports of female students being turned away from universities, female workers from their offices." 

We rate this post False.