Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai fears for female rights after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban (Picture: BBC/EPA/AP)

Malala has spoken out about her ‘deep concerns’ for Afghanistan after the country fell to the Taliban.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner, who was shot in the head by the Islamist militant group nine years ago, said she was particularly fearful about the safety of women and girls.

Now based in the UK, Malala Yousafzai called for world leaders to take urgent action.

Malala said President Joe Biden ‘has a lot to do’ and must ‘take a bold step’ to protect the Afghan people, adding she had been trying to reach out to several global leaders.

She told the BBC’s Newsnight: ‘This is actually an urgent humanitarian crisis right now that we need to provide our help and support.’

Malala, now 23, was targeted in Pakistan for her campaign against Taliban efforts to deny women education.

She had come to prominence as an 11-year-old writing a blog under a pen name for the BBC – but the shooting only brought her further fame and gave her a platform to speak about various humanitarian issues.

‘I am deeply concerned about the situation in Afghanistan right now, especially about the safety of women and girls there’, she explained on Monday.