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One of Afghanistan’s first female Olympians has called on the England cricket team to boycott their Champions Trophy match against the Asian country’s men’s team next month.
Friba Rezayee, who competed in judo at the 2004 Athens Games, says female Afghan cricketers and athletes in other sports are treated “as if they didn’t exist” by the Taliban regime, and called on England to pull out of the match in protest.
The team have come under political pressure to withdraw from the match in Lahore as a moral objection to the Taliban’s ongoing assault on women’s rights in the country, and Rezayee, the founder of Women Leaders of Tomorrow, has now joined the calls.
“Afghan female athletes need your support to be able to practise (their) right to play sports,” Rezayee wrote in a letter seen by the PA news agency.
“I urge England to boycott Afghanistan’s national cricket team effective immediately.
“We exist. But we are treated (as) if we didn’t exist.
“Women’s teams remain invisible and unworthy. Sadly, most of our female athletes and teams have been left behind. They’re in hiding, terrified of the deadly consequences of being found.”
Rezayee was one of the first responders to help athletes reach safety when the Afghan central government collapsed and the Taliban retook control in 2021.
She echoed a call from Downing Street for the International Cricket Council to “deliver on its own rules”.
The terms of ICC membership have been directly breached by the abolition of women’s sport in Afghanistan, grounds for possible suspension, but their men’s team have now been permitted to take a place in three global tournaments in the past 18 months.
It has been proven for decades that the Taliban have violated gender equality in sports, and have no intentions of reversing the ban on women’s sports. It is up to us to act now
Friba Rezayee
Rezayee added: “We were heartened by the ICC’s promise and mandate to ensure that women athletes will be equal to the male athletes, but the reality has been different for the Afghan female cricket players in Afghanistan and in exile.
“The ICC is waiting for the Taliban to change, and obey the ICC rules, however, it has been proven for decades that the Taliban have violated gender equality in sports, and have no intentions of reversing the ban on women’s sports. It is up to us to act now.”
She pointed out that the Afghan men’s team receives 17 million US dollars (£13.7m) a year from the ICC, while female cricketers “aren’t allowed to go to gym in Afghanistan, or compete for Afghanistan in exile”.
A group of over 160 MPs and peers have also signed a letter urging the England and Wales Cricket Board to sit out next month’s fixture.
ECB chief executive Richard Gould Gould has condemned the erosion of women’s rights and vowed to work with counterparts at home and overseas “to explore all possible avenues for meaningful change”.
There’s been an appalling erosion of rights for women and girls in Afghanistan and we all should condemn the suppression of freedom in the strongest terms
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was asked directly about the matter at Prime Minister’s Questions by Labour Backbencher Tonia Antoniazzi, who authored the cross-party letter addressed to Gould, but did not add to his official spokesman’s prior calls on the ICC.
Responding to Antoniazzi, he told the House of Commons: “There’s been an appalling erosion of rights for women and girls in Afghanistan and we all should condemn the suppression of freedom in the strongest terms.
“DCMS (the department for digital, culture, media and sport) are in touch with international counterparts on this issue. I welcome the ECB making strong representations to the ICC on the Afghanistan women’s cricket team.”
