Zakir Naik is defending the Taliban’s policy on girls’ education after criticism and public backlash over remarks he made about schooling in Afghanistan. NDTV reports that UNICEF says 2.6 million Afghan girls have been denied secondary education since September 2021, as controversy grows around Naik’s position.
Different outlets frame the dispute in different ways. NDTV also says Naik claims the media misrepresents the situation in Afghanistan, presenting his response as a rebuttal to how the issue is portrayed. India Today highlights the reaction as one that brings together audiences across India and involving Afghanistan and Pakistan, while still centring Naik’s defence of the education policy.
Across coverage, the common thread is Naik’s public defence of Taliban actions regarding girls’ access to education and the broader dispute over how Afghanistan’s situation is described and interpreted.
