Author: Shameneh Majid
Claim: Malala Yousafzai has not commented on the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, which was carried out during the opening of US-Israel joint airstrikes on 28 February 2026.
Fact: Malala publicly condemned the attack on 1 March and called out Israel and the US for this act.
Soon after the bombing of the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls’ elementary school in Minab, Iran, social media posts circulated online on 4 and 6 March accusing the Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist and advocate for girls education Malala Yousafzai of remaining silent about the missile strikes on a girls school in the southern Iranian city of Minab. The posts included a caricature of her with the speech bubble saying, “I haven’t been told to tweet about it yet.”
A caricature of Malala Yousafzai, shared in the claim, with a speech bubble saying, “I haven’t been told to tweet about it yet.”
In another instance, a post shared the same caricature of her with a caption that did not overtly name Malala but criticised the “Nobel Laureate” who had been silent about the attack.
Facebook user Usman Ali’s false post regarding Malala’s silence on the attack.
The post said:
“On the first day of the war in Iran, a bombing of a girls’ school killed 165 girls and injured many more… Nobel laureates are silent.”
Fact or Fiction?
Soch Fact Check found that this claim is false. On 1 March, Malala Yousafzai publicly expressed her sentiments in light of the attack in a post on X.
She posted the following statement on her X account @Malala:
Malala Yousafzai’s X post on 1 March 2026, condemning the attacks
“They were girls who went to school to learn, with hopes and dreams for their future. Today, their lives were brutally cut short.
I am heartbroken and appalled by the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, including reports that a girls’ school in southern Iran was hit, resulting in the injury and death of many girls. The killing of civilians, especially children, is unconscionable, and I condemn it unequivocally.
My heart is with the children, families and communities affected by escalation across the region. I stand firmly against violence and the targeting of schools and civilians. I call for the escalation of violence across the region to end. Justice and accountability must follow. All states and parties must uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and safeguard schools.
Every child deserves to live and learn in peace.”
The claims criticising Malala Yousafzai for remaining silent about the incident emerged online after she had posted a statement unequivocally condemning the attack on the girls’ school in Iran. The activist held both Israel and the US responsible while demanding accountability and calling for an end to the violence in her statement.
Her stance was also reported on by major news outlets, including Al Jazeera, Reuters, and ABC News Australia, and was also published on UN News.
Besides the X post, she also condemned the attack during her address to the UN. The Malala Fund covered her speech at the UN on 8 March 2026, which is International Women’s Day. She said that justice cannot be selective, and that “I am devastated for families in Iran whose daughters left for school and did not return home,” while discussing violence on women and children.
Virality
The claim appeared on Facebook here, here, and here.
It was shared on Instagram here and here. It was shared on X here.
Conclusion:
The claim is false. Activist and Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai has publicly condemned the killing of young girls in the attack on a girls’ school in Minab, Iran.
Background image in cover photo: Facebook.
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