Controversial preacher Zakir Naik faced backlash from India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan after defending Taliban restrictions on girls' education. Naik claimed the media misrepresents the situation, saying, "Everything that comes in the media is not true." He argued the Taliban only postponed schooling until security improves, drawing sharp criticism from activists.
In a video clip that has been widely circulated on social media, controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik claimed that the media misrepresents the situation in Afghanistan.
Zakir Naik said that the Taliban has postponed education for girls until security is established
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Controversial Indian Islamic preacher Zakir Naik has drawn widespread condemnation from journalists, activists, academics, and citizens across India, Pakistan, and Afghanistan after publicly defending the Taliban's restrictions on girls' education.
In a video clip that has been widely circulated on social media, Naik claimed that the media misrepresents the situation in Afghanistan.
"Everything that comes in the media is not true", he claimed.
"So if someone delays the education till they have the right teacher, there is no problem at all", he added.
He defended the Taliban administration and said that the Taliban has merely postponed secondary and higher education for girls until security is established.
He said that primary education remains open up to Class 6, but higher education is paused due to a lack of safe environments and a shortage of female teachers.
He alleged that Afghan women are actively pursuing master's degrees and PhDs in Islamic studies and Sharia.
"Deeply Troubling"
Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai's father strongly condemned Naik's remarks and called them "deeply troubling and disappointing".
"It is deeply troubling and disappointing to see an Islamic scholar of such global prominence as Dr. @drzakiranaik rationalise the Taliban's systematic exclusion of girls from education", he said.
"Presenting an indefinite ban as a mere "postponement" and invoking a shortage of female teachers without explaining how that shortage can be addressed is not a credible defence", he added.
Yousafzai warned that these comments justify the Taliban's systemic oppression of women, which he termed a "grave injustice".
Malala was shot by the Taliban because she was publicly campaigning for girls' right to education and speaking out against the extremist regime.
Naik fled India in 2016 after Bangladeshi investigators revealed that one of the gunmen involved in the July 2016 Dhaka cafe attack was inspired by his speeches.
Meanwhile, the Indian law enforcement agencies launched an investigation into his activities. Seeking to avoid prosecution, Naik moved to Malaysia in 2017, where he was granted permanent residency.
"Brilliant Logic"
Exiled Afghan Member of Parliament Mariam Solaimankhil sarcastically called Naik's logic "brilliant".
"According to Zakir Naik, Afghan girls aren't banned from education. They're just waiting for female teachers. The same female teachers the Taliban banned from working?" she wrote on X.
"Brilliant logic, Doctor!" she added.
"Deeply Immoral Creatures"
Indian Historian Ruchika Sharma labelled religious men as "deeply immoral creatures".
"Men of religion are deeply immoral creatures. Imagine not fighting hook line and sinker and using your influence among Muslims to condemn Afghanistan's ghastly ban on women's education. It is one of the grossest violations of human rights in the world!!", Sharma said.
2.6 Million Afghan Girls Denied Secondary Education: UNICEF
According to UNICEF, more than 2.6 million Afghan girls have been denied secondary education since September 2021, the year the Taliban returned to power.
"Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where secondary and higher education is effectively closed to girls and women", the press release states.
"Five years may be brief in a country's history, but it is a defining period in a girl's life," said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
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