Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala has called for support for female education

Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala has returned to her native Pakistan to appeal to Muslim leaders not to "legitimize" the Taliban government in Afghanistan and to "show real leadership" in opposing the Taliban's restrictions on female education.

Speaking at a global summit on Girls' education in Muslim countries hosted by Pakistan on Sunday, Malala Yousafzai, 27, said: "In Afghanistan, a whole generation of girls will be deprived of their future. As Muslim leaders, now is the time to speak up and show leadership."

She asked the assembled academics to "publicly challenge and condemn the oppressive practices of the Taliban" and for leaders to support gender segregation as a crime against humanity under international criminal law.

Separately, Malala condemned Israel's violations of international law and human rights in Gaza. "In Gaza, Israel destroyed the entire education system. They destroyed more than 90 per cent of schools and indiscriminately attacked civilians who had taken refuge in school buildings."

Representatives of the Taliban government did not attend the two-day event. "Simply put, the Taliban do not see women as human beings and use culture and religion as an excuse to cover up their crimes," Education Minister Khalid al-Sharif said.

It was Malala's return to Pakistan after a 12-year hiatus. Malala's friend and activist Nighat Dad said: "For her, this is a homecoming, a place that shaped who she is today, but also a reminder of her unfinished mission... "She has come to Pakistan to send a message to those in power that the fight for education will not be silenced, whether it is in the Swat Valley or on the Afghan border."

Malala co-founded the Malala Fund with her father, a former teacher in the Swat Valley, and has since invested millions of dollars to improve the plight of 120 million out-of-school girls around the world.

Pakistan is facing economic hardship due to political chaos and a resurgent militant force, with millions of families trapped in poverty and more than a third of children still not attending school.

In neighboring Afghanistan, the Taliban returned to power and imposed strict Islamic laws, including a ban on girls attending secondary schools and universities.

In 2012, Malala, then 15, was shot in the face by Pakistani militants for advocating education rights. She was later transferred to the United Kingdom for treatment and successfully recovered, and later became the youngest Nobel Prize winner in history at the age of 17.