Seventeen former members of Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team have reached out to the International Cricket Council (ICC), appealing for assistance in establishing a refugee team in Australia. This comes amidst global attention on the Afghanistan men’s cricket team, which made headlines by reaching the semi-finals of the recently-concluded T20 World Cup 2024. While celebrating this achievement, the plea from the women underscores a stark disparity in opportunities.
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team, which had been under contract with the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB), was disbanded in 2021 due to the Taliban’s return to power and their imposition of severe restrictions on women’s participation in sports. This also led many players to seek refuge abroad.
In a letter addressed to ICC Chairman Greg Barclay, they expressed pride and excitement in Afghanistan’s achievements at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, congratulating Rashid Khan and his team on reaching the semifinals.
“We, the formerly contracted players of the Afghanistan women’s team, are proud and excited by the achievements of Afghanistan at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and wish to congratulate Rashid Khan and his team on reaching the semi-finals,” states the letter, written on June 29.
Appeal For Recognition & Support From Former Afghan Women Cricketers
Former Afghan women cricketers, now residing abroad, expressed deep regret that they cannot represent their country due to strict government rules barring women from sports. They appealed to the ICC to support their initiative to establish a refugee team in Australia.
“A profound sadness remains that we, as women, cannot represent our country like the male cricketers. As former Afghan cricketers now living abroad, we are unable to represent the Afghanistan women’s national team. We are asking the ICC to assist us in setting up a refugee team in Australia,” the letter added.
They proposed creating a team of Afghan refugees to enable playing, coaching and administering cricket without constraints. This initiative aims to unite Afghan women under one banner, providing them with an opportunity to represent their country collectively.
“Through this team, we aim to represent all Afghan women who dream of playing cricket but are unable to in Afghanistan. Creating a team of Afghan refugees can give us a chance to play, coach and administer a cricket team without borders. The creation of this team will allow all Afghan women who want to represent their country to come together under one banner,” the players said in the letter.
“Our goals in having a refugee team is to develop and showcase our talent, give hope to the women remaining in Afghanistan, and to draw attention to the challenges women of Afghanistan face.”
