Fear of Afghan cyclists realizes Taliban wants to ban women from playing sports

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They are being processed in the UAE before leaving for Canada to begin their new life.

A woman, who does not want to be named for security reasons, told CNN that she feared being a female athlete in Afghanistan once the Taliban took over.

“Oh my God, it’s very difficult to explain our situation in words,” he said.

“It’s really difficult because the main reason, specific reason, why I leave Afghanistan was because I wasn’t safe as an athlete. I was doing sports in Afghanistan, but today that’s not safe … I was forced to leave my country. “

After nearly two decades of conflict, the Taliban recaptured the capital of Afghanistan and took over the country’s presidential palace, just a month after the United States began the final withdrawal of military troops from its war. longer.

On Tuesday, the Taliban announced the formation of an interim government for the country, taking the top spot with veterans of the militant group overseeing the 20-year struggle against the U.S.-led military coalition.
READ: “All the risk I took is worth it”: Abbas Karimi fled Afghanistan at 16, now represents the 2020 Paralympic Refugee Team in Tokyo
A convoy of Taliban fighters patrols a street in Kabul on September 2, 2021.

“I want to prove that girls are capable”

The story of the Afghan cyclist on the evacuation of athletes is one of several that emerged from the Taliban’s acquisition, following the evacuation of the women’s national football team last month.

Former Afghan women’s assistant coach Haley Carter told CNN that a “cloth group” managed to coordinate the safe evacuation of 86 Afghan athletes, officers and family members.
Carter worked closely with former team captain Khalida Popal, who had also spoken to CNN last month about the plight of female athletes trapped in the country.

Explaining how sport had become a conduit in the ongoing struggle for women’s rights, Popal’s feelings resonate strongly in the cyclist’s words.

“Before we practiced, we had competitions. We even competed with boys … And we were happy,” he added.

“But today it’s really disappointing. It really hurts us to see the situation where girls won’t be allowed.

“As a cycling girl, as an athlete doing sports in Afghanistan to stand up for human rights, mostly girls.

“I plan to leave my country because I couldn’t stay … and I want to continue my sport and my education. I want to show that girls are capable, that girls have the right to do what they want.

“They’re allowed. They have to be allowed to do their studies, do any sport they want and have a life that they’re supposed to have.”

Changing

The cyclist’s revelations become even more poignant with the announcement of a Taliban official not to allow women to practice cricket and other sports.

Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy director of the Taliban’s cultural commission, told SBS News in Australia that Afghan women should not play cricket or other sports in which they would be “exposed.”
“On the grill, they may face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen that way,” Wasiq told SBS News.
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Taliban fighter keeps watch as spectators watch Twenty20 cricket match played between two Afghan teams

“It’s the age of the media, there will be photos and videos, and then people will watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or practice the kind of sports where they are exposed. “.

The International Cricket Council requires that its twelve full members, including Afghanistan, have a women’s national team.

In November 2020, the Afghan Cricket Board announced that it had awarded 25 women’s cricket contracts.

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