After pleading with world leaders at the United Nations to protect the education and rights of women in Afghanistan a year after the Taliban took over, Somaya Faruqi, former captain of the Afghan girls robotics team, broke down in tears backstage.
"I was in classroom last year, but this year girls are not in classroom. Classrooms are empty, and they are at their homes. So it was too hard to control myself, control my feelings," Faruqi, 20, told Reuters.
"Most of you know what exactly needs to be done. You must not make small, stingy and short-term pledges, but commit to uphold the right to complete education and close the funding gap once and for all," Yousafzai said on Monday. Last year, she pleaded with the world not to compromise on the protection of Afghan women's rights following the Taliban takeover.
At the Transforming Education Summit on Monday, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed to the Taliban to "lift all restrictions on girls’ access to secondary education immediately." "Women, no matter where they live, should have equal rights in every facet of their lives," Blinken said.