Didn't Think Women's Rights Would Be Trampled On So Easily, Says Malala Yousafzai

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai criticised the Taliban's harsh laws against Afghan women, stating that she never imagined that women's rights would be trampled on so easily.

In the shadow of these Taliban directives, "women lost everything", Malala said.

According to international organisations, the Taliban has enacted at least 70 decrees and laws that directly target women's rights.

The Taliban's Law on the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice completely excludes women from the public sphere. According to this law, women's voices in the public sphere are "awrah”.

A number of international organisations, especially Amnesty International, the Office of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, and some countries, have called the situation in Afghanistan a "clear example of gender apartheid”.

Malala told the BBC's English service about the Taliban's rules, "These laws are so extreme that no one can consider them rational. Many girls find themselves in a very desperate and depressed situation, where there is no way out for them. The future looks very bleak for them."

Malala Yousafzai co-produced the film "Bread and Roses", which narrates the lives of three Afghan women under the Taliban's rule.

The documentary, directed by Afghan director Sahra Mani and in collaboration with American actress Jennifer Lawrence, deals with the stories of Afghan women's resistance.

"This film is not just about the lives of three women, but about 20 million Afghan girls and women whose stories are rarely shown," Malala said about the film.

The documentary tells the story of the lives of Zohra, a dentist who was forced to leave her profession; Taranoom, a human rights activist who fled to the border, and Sharifa, a civil servant who lost her job and financial independence.

The three women in the film no longer live in Afghanistan, but Malala and Sahra Mani hope the documentary will raise global awareness of what the remaining women in the country endure.

Sahra Mani said, "Bread is a symbol of freedom, that is, providing for one's livelihood and supporting one's family. We say in our language, "He who gives you bread also commands you." Therefore, when you find your bread, it means that you have your own choice."

Malala and the film's production team hope that this work will convey the message of Afghan women's resistance to the world and create an incentive to further support their rights.