After fleeing from the Taliban 3 years ago, Afghanistan’s women crickets played their first game together. Coming together for a charity match in Australia, captain Nahida Sapan hoped it would usher in a movement for change. Back in August 2021, hundreds of women athletes escaped Afghanistan when the Taliban took over. Reportedly, the women were banned from sports and education leading them to flee the hardline stance. Many of the national women’s cricket side took refuge in Australia, where they reunited for the first game on Thursday, playing a charity cricket match in Melbourne.
Taliban Banned Women’s Cricket
In November 2020, the Afghanistan Cricket Board made a significant stride by handing professional contracts to 25 promising women cricketers. However, before they leveraged the opportunity, the Taliban captured the capital Kabul and declared an end to women’s cricket.
“The situation in Afghanistan is terrible. Women don’t have their rights. I can live freely in Australia and live my life the way I want. But back home in Afghanistan… I can only say it is very heartbreaking and very hard to live in that situation,” said Sapan.
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Movement For Change
During the run-up to the game, Sapan said “Together, we’re building not just a team, we’re building a movement for change and promise. We have big hopes for this match because this match can open doors for Afghan women in education and sport in the future.”
Diana Barakzai, who contributed to building the foundation of Afghanistan’s first women’s cricket programme almost 20 years ago described the match as an ‘amazing moment’.
“I’m sure it’s a big message for the world, that the world will do something for Afghan women,” she told the AFP news agency.
She further said, “Especially for opening the school doors, opening up work for women.”
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“A profound sadness remains that we, as women, cannot represent our country like the male cricketers. The creation of this team will allow all Afghan women who want to represent their country to come together under one banner,” some players wrote in a joint letter last year.
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