6 Oct
The Taliban bans all sports for women in Afghanistan
Cricket Australia stated on Thursday that if reports about Taliban attitudes on women’s cricket are accurate, it will not proceed with the planned test against Afghanistan in November.
Australia’s SBS TV quoted a Taliban spokesperson declaring that his group in Afghanistan will restrict women’s sports—and female crickets in particular.
“They could be faced with a circumstance in which their face and body are not protected. Islam does not allow women to be seen as such,” said Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the culture committee of the Taliban.
“It is the media age, photos and videos will appear, and then people will watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate prevent women from playing cricket or playing sports in which they are exposed.”
Wasiq told SBS last month that the Taliban would continue with the male cricket and approved a trip to Australia by the Men’s National Team for a Test match in November.
But Cricket Australia stated in a statement released on Thursday that it would not continue the planned test beginning on 27 November if Taliban press reports on the women’s game were correct.
“The expansion of female cricket is extremely essential for Cricket Australia worldwide,” the statement read. “Our goal for cricket is that it is a sport for everybody, and we encourage women at all levels of the game.
“If new media reports show that female crickets are not supported in Afghanistan, Cricket Australia would not have the option, except for the test match that will be played in Hobart, to host Afghanistan.”
Australia’s minister of sport Richard Colbeck said earlier that the decision of the Taliban on women’s sport was “very concerning” and encouraged institutions like the International Cricket Council to take action.
“It is unacceptable to exclude women from any level of sport,” Colbeck said in a statement. “We urge international sports authorities to take a stand against this terrible judgment, particularly the International Cricket Council.”
Afghan football women’s team players are among dozens of athletes who have received permits to live in Australia and are subjected to quarantine owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Tuesday, the Taliban proclaimed an all-male interim Afghanistan administration loaded with veterans of its harsh line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year struggle against the US-led coalition.
A policy statement following the announcement by the cabinet aimed to alleviate the anxieties of neighbors in Afghanistan and the rest of the globe. Still, the fears of women who did not hold one single post were unlikely to calm.
It spoke of defending the rights of minorities and the disadvantaged and promised “all the compatriots in the Sharia framework” education. The three-page statement did not address women.
The Taliban camouflage special forces fired their firearms into the air last Saturday to end a march which is for protesting this in Kabul by women demanding equal rights.
A policy declaration following the Cabinet announcement aimed to alleviate the anxieties of neighboring Afghanistan and the rest of the world, but there was little likelihood of calming the fears of women who did not get a single position.