Don’t ban the Afghanistan men’s team from playing international cricket, but do expect them to do more for women and girls who don’t have the same rights as them. That is the opinion of two former Afghan players who live in exile in Australia.
Firooza Amiri and Benafsha Hashimi fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021 and have narrated their story of escape to a new life on ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast. Both women continue to play club cricket in Australia, hoping to one day represent their country, although that will not be possible until the Afghanistan cricket Board (ACB) forms a women’s team. Under the Taliban regime, the ACB cannot do that because of the country’s laws, which prohibit women from playing sports, studying and working.
Given that Afghanistan is a full member of the ICC, and one of the conditions of that status is having a women’s side, there has been a debate over whether or not Afghanistan’s men’s team should be sanctioned. Both Australia and England refuse to play bilateral series against them in protest, but continue to play them in ICC events, while the other nine full members engage with Afghanistan, sometimes amid growing calls to boycott them. South Africa is the most recent and relevant example, as it was isolated between the 1970s and 1990s by the country’s race-based apartheid system. While the country’s sports minister, Gayton McKenzie, recently cited gender discrimination as a reason for not playing in Afghanistan, cricket South Africa believes that punishing male players for a situation outside their control will not force change. Amiri and Hashimi have similar views, but it’s important to know that some of the other players have different opinions.
“The Afghanistan men’s team brings a kind of hope. They are role models for us. I don’t want to say that I don’t support them at all,” Amiri told ESPNcricinfo in May 2024, when we first interviewed her. “But when I can’t play for Afghanistan, what’s most heartbreaking is when you see that men can do something and women can’t, which is absolutely wrong. Anything men can do, women can do too.”
Australia, where Amiri and Hashimi live, refuses to play Afghanistan in bilateral cricket. This has Amiri wondering if selectively avoiding the men’s team is worth it. “If it has an impact on our team, that we can put pressure on the Afghanistan cricket Board to form a women’s team, then we will be happy, but only if it is a way to start playing cricket.”
Although he entertained the idea of a ban, Amiri acknowledges that Afghanistan’s men’s team has progressed rapidly and its success could be more of a statement than a ban. “They are in a good position right now in the world and if they start supporting us, they will have a big impact on our team. They can be very, very useful for us and for all women. If women can start doing sports, Women can also start studying. It can be a path.
“If you start supporting us, it will be a way for all women. If you can hear my voice from here: Afghanistan, national players, please be the voice of girls right now. Please do more for us. Start do something for women. You are the voice of Afghanistan. They are the most famous people right now. You can be the voice of millions and millions of girls.
Despite his request, Amiri acknowledged that male players could be putting their own safety at risk if they speak out. “I know there were always some challenges for them as well. Some of their families are still in Afghanistan. We don’t want you to be in danger.”
“We don’t want to create another problem by stopping them or keep talking about stopping them from playing cricket. Now we have our base, we want to play for the Afghan XI. We want to create a better future for Afghan women inside Afghanistan and make a change in cricket.”
“It’s one of the most complex pieces I’ve ever seen,” Jones said. “There’s nothing black and white about this… but I think there’s an issue around leadership. People take leadership positions to lead, and it doesn’t mean you have to make a black or white decision about things.” , but I think you have to stand up and be a voice and support yourself in some difficult situations. And this is a really difficult situation.
“I think the frustration has been the lack of conversation about it. And here is this incredible group of women who are trying to rebuild their lives and still connect to cricket. And they’ve barely had a conversation with our leaders around the world. And that’s the most frustrating thing for me. We may still come to the same point and the same decisions as we are now, regardless of those conversations, but giving these women the space they deserve… that’s probably the only piece I would say. .I’ve been really bad for the last three or four years: it’s just that people turn their backs on that conversation. And I hope that if we learn something from this, if something like this happens again, whether it’s in a different country or a different group of people, whether it’s a men’s team somewhere or. something like that, we just don’t turn our backs on people and hope that silence will make this go away, because it just doesn’t.”
Episode 2 of ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay podcast will look at where Amiri and Hashimi are now, as well as the practicalities and challenges of exiled Afghan women playing as a team.
Episode 1 of ESPNcricinfo’s Powerplay special on Afghanistan will be available on January 22, followed by episode 2 on January 29.