The pressure on the cricket world governing body ICC to suspend Afghanistan is growing. With the Taliban's sports ban for women, the national association is violating ICC statutes – with possible consequences for the men's team.
Afghanistan's cricket team, the country's sporting flagship and the Taliban, are threatened with losing the World Cup
“It It is worrying that there is no sign of progress in Afghanistan,” Geoff Allardice said at a recent international press conference. The chief executive of the International Cricket Confederation (ICC) announced that the ICC Executive Board would consider the issue at its next General Assembly in March, but qualified at the same time. “As far as we know, there is currently no activity.”
17 months ago, the Islamic fundamentalist Taliban seized power in Afghanistan and dramatically worsened the situation, especially for women and girls in the country. This also affects the sport and the women's national cricket team in Afghanistan.
Violation of ICC criteria
Minky Worden from Human Rights Watch
“Taliban forces have closed training centers and threatened female athletes with violence, female athletes reported,” Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch told DW. “As a result, some Afghan athletes have gone into hiding, even attempting to destroy evidence of their connection to the sport, including medals and sports jerseys. Many athletes are still in Afghanistan, where they cannot safely train and practice their sport.”
With the cricket ban for women and the de facto dissolution of the women's national team, Afghanistan's association violated the conditions of the world association. According to the ICC membership criteria, if you want to be a full member, there must also be a women's team. Ultimately, those who do not meet this requirement will not be able to participate in international competitions such as the World Cup – and this could also affect Afghanistan men who have qualified for the World Cup, which will be held in India in October. Should the ICC be consistent, a World Cup exclusion would be the logical consequence. That would also affect the Taliban, who like to bask in the sporting success of “their” cricket team.
Australia puts pressure on the ICC
The Australian association Cricket Australia (CA) is a pioneer in the fight for equal rights for cricket women in Afghanistan. The Australians were the first to set an example by initially postponing and finally canceling a friendly against Afghanistan planned for November 2021. In doing so, they put pressure on the ICC to stick to their own criteria and sanction Afghanistan's association.
< p>Cricket is popular with Afghan men and women – only men are allowed to play it
“The Australian FA is committed to supporting the development of the sport for women and men around the world, including in Afghanistan,” the Australian Cricket Association said in a statement in early January. “We will continue to work with the Afghan Cricket Board in anticipation of improving conditions for women and girls in the country.”
Paris 2024 Olympic Exclusion?
In addition to expectations of the ICC, there are also voices that demand the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for all Afghan sport due to the political situation. “The Afghan National Olympic Committee is fully controlled by the Taliban government in Kabul and is a government ministry,” says Friba Rezayee. In Athens 2004, the Afghan judoka, together with track and field athlete Robina Muqimyar, became the first Afghan woman to take part in the Olympic Games. “The IOC should suspend the Taliban and their all-male sports federations until women and girls can train and compete again,” she said. “It is clear that any IOC funds or funds provided to the Afghan NOC are funds for the Taliban.”
The IOC has denied the Afghan Olympic team's participation in the Olympics 2024 in Paris last December, there should be no progress “on the fundamental issue of safe access to sport for women and young girls in the country”.
However, the Olympic governing body did not set a deadline by when this access must be guaranteed, and thus missed an opportunity to achieve something more quickly in the fight for the protection and right of Afghan women and girls to exercise.
< p>The text has been adapted from English.
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Sports ban for Afghan women
Offside
Since taking power again in August 2021, the Taliban have adopted a series of measures that severely restrict the lives of women and girls. The sports ban is part of this campaign. But many women disagree. The AP news agency photographed her anonymously with her sports equipment. Here a former women's soccer team in Kabul.
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Sports ban for Afghan women
Offboard
This young female skateboarder is posing in burqa with her skateboard. The Taliban have not only banned all sports for women and girls and denied them access to parks and gymnasiums, but also intimidate women who continue to practice their sport with visits and threatening phone calls.
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Sports ban for Afghan women
Technical KO
Noura, a 20-year-old martial artist, recalls the day the Taliban took Kabul: she was taking part in a tournament at a Kabul gym that day. When word got around among the spectators that the Taliban had reached the suburbs of Kabul, all the women and girls fled the hall. It was her last tournament to date.
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Sports ban for Afghan Women
Run
Noura is a fighter. She grew up in a poor part of Kabul and has always prevailed against resistance. But when she and her family were threatened by the Taliban, she left Kabul in fear and hid in her parents' home province for a few weeks. “Since the Taliban came back I feel like I'm dead,'' she told AP.
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Sports ban for Afghan women
Slowed down
Many women in Afghanistan are like this cyclist at the moment – they are being systematically slowed down by the Taliban: They were forbidden from attending schools and universities, they have to cover their entire bodies in public and women are given the opportunity to work outside the home , have been severely restricted.
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Sports ban for Afghan women
The game is over
Basketball is also out of the question for this young woman in Kabul. The spokesman for the Taliban's National Olympic Committee had announced that the authorities were planning new sports facilities to enable women to participate in sports again. Similar statements were also made in relation to girls attending middle and high schools, but nothing has happened so far.