Afghanistan's women cricketers have played their first match since fleeing their homeland following the Taliban’s takeover three years ago. 

The team reunited in Australia for a charity game, with captain Nahida Sapan expressing hope that it would spark “a movement for change.”

In August 2021, hundreds of female athletes fled Afghanistan to escape the Taliban’s strict policies, which effectively banned women’s sports and education.

Many members of the national women’s cricket team resettled in Australia as refugees, where they came together in Melbourne on Thursday for their first game since their displacement.

“Together, we’re building not just a team, we’re building a movement for change and promise,” Sapan said in the run-up to the game.

“We have big hopes for this match because this match can open doors for Afghan women in education and sport in the future.”

The Afghanistan Cricket Board made a significant stride in November 2020 when it handed 25 promising women cricketers professional contracts.

But before the fledgling squad had a chance to play together, the Taliban captured 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.”

Diana Barakzai, who helped found Afghanistan’s first women’s cricket programme almost 20 years ago, said the match was 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.

“Especially for opening the school doors, opening up work for women.”

Of the 25 women once contracted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, 22 are now settled in the Australian cities of Melbourne and Canberra.

Some of these players have lobbied the governing International Cricket Council (ICC) in the hopes of forming a refugee team with some kind of official status.

“A profound sadness remains that we, as women, cannot represent our country like the male cricketers,” some players wrote in a joint letter last year.

“The creation of this team will allow all Afghan women who want to represent their country to come together under one banner.”

The ICC has so far ignored these calls.

Thursday’s game was played at Melbourne’s Junction Oval, a storied ground where a young Shane Warne once plied his trade.

The Afghan side played an invitational outfit representing Cricket Without Borders, a charity that aims to draw young women into the game.

Governing body Cricket Australia threw its weight behind the match, pledging to “advocate” for the Afghan women’s side at the highest levels.

Source: AL Jazeera 

BDST: 1316 HRS, JAN 30, 2024
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