On Saturday, in one of the deadliest attacks against civilians amid ongoing regional tensions, a girls’ primary school in the city of Minab was struck by a missile.
According to the latest official reports, at least 165 students and school staff have been killed, and 96 others injured. But these are not just numbers; they were girls who left their homes on Saturday morning, wearing their school uniforms and carrying bags filled with books—setting out to learn, to build dreams.
In response to this tragedy, Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was once targeted by the Taliban for defending girls’ right to education, issued a deeply moving statement. In a post shared on social media, she wrote: “They were girls who went to school to learn, with hopes and dreams for their future. But today, their lives were brutally destroyed.”
Malala, whose voice has become a global symbol of resistance for children’s education, spoke of the attack with a broken heart and described it as a result of escalating violence in the region that continues to claim civilian lives. She emphasized that schools must be the safest place for every child—not a battlefield.
In her statement, she called for an immediate end to the escalation of violence in the region and urged the international community to act: “Justice and accountability must be upheld. All countries and parties involved are obligated to honor their commitments under international law and protect civilians and schools.” The harsh reality, she noted, is that such tragedies are the outcome of U.S. and Israeli policies in the region. Attacks that target innocent children are not only a blatant violation of human rights, but also a stark symbol of the international community’s failure to safeguard schools and the dreams of future generations.
She concluded her message, accompanied by the hashtag #RightToEducation, by writing: “Every child deserves to live and learn in peace.”
Source: Instagram of Malala Yousafzai