Women’s rights activists call for England to forfeit championship cricket match to Afghanistan

England’s men cricket team will face Afghanistan in the group stage of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy on February 26.

However, women’s rights campaigners have called for England to give up its shooting glory in protest at ongoing human rights abuses in Afghanistan. The Women’s Rights Network (WRN) published a statement On Tuesday he not only called for the championship game in February to be forgone, but also for any sporting competition against an Afghan national team.

“Women’s Rights Network calls on England to abandon the game. In fact, we call on our politicians and sports associations to go further. We demand: [UK Prime Minister] Keir Starmer orders a boycott of all Afghan games across all sports [England Cricket Team] losing all matches against the Afghan men’s cricket team in any tournament, examining players and coaches on their conscience – the women in your families are free to dress however they want, have an education, take jobs, travel, have bank accounts, speak and sing. How can you in good conscience play a country that denies women their basic human rights?,” the group wrote.

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“Pride in the team jersey means pride in your country’s achievements in standing up for human rights and against dictators who bask in the glory of sporting success. What is happening to the women of Afghanistan is horrific. Every athlete with a conscience should do the right thing.”: Boycott Afghanistan.”

Afghanistan has been under Taliban control since August 2021 after President Biden ordered a US military withdrawal. The withdrawal resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. troops and the almost immediate takeover of the country’s capital, Kabul, by Taliban forces. Another 45 US soldiers were injured and more than 170 Afghan civilians were killed.

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After the Taliban takeover of Kabul on August 15, 2021, the country’s economy “fundamentally collapsed,” according to the UNDP, in large part because international funding through government donor plans such as the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund stopped.

The Taliban’s rise to power has led to particularly appalling treatment of women in the country.

According to Sharia law, women are not allowed to move in public spaces unless they are accompanied by a male relative. In general, they are only allowed to leave their house in urgent cases and in this case they must wear a full veil.

In August the Taliban ruler issued a ban on women’s voices and naked faces in public as part of new laws approved by the Supreme Leader to combat vice and promote virtue.

Women are required to cover themselves from non-Muslim men and women to avoid being corrupted. A woman’s voice is considered intimate and therefore should not be heard in public when singing, reciting or reading. Women are forbidden to look at men to whom they are not related by blood or marriage, and vice versa.

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In addition, women in Afghanistan are banned from attending secondary school and, as of 2022, are no longer allowed to study at all. There are some courses that are also offered online for women, but the students are not allowed to take exams.

In July, a United Nations report said the ministry contributes to a climate of fear and intimidation among Afghans through decrees and the methods of enforcing them.

“Given the numerous issues highlighted in the report, the position expressed by the de facto authorities that this oversight will increase and expand is a matter of great concern for all Afghans, especially women and girls,” said Fiona Frazer, the head of the human rights organization Human Rights Service at the UN mission in Afghanistan.

The Taliban rejected the UN report.

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