First Sports: Afghanistan men's cricketers accused of silence on Taliban regime by women's players

Champions Trophy 2025 kick starts in Pakistan and Dubai next month and all eyes will be on Afghanistan, not because of their historic debut in the tournament or their cricketing brilliance over the past few years, but because of the growing anger against them. Lots of other countries like England and South Africa have already questioned the Taliban’s regressive regime in the country and joining the voices now are disbarred Afghan women cricketers.

The women of Afghanistan are questioning the lack of support from their male counterparts

Afghanistan women cricketers question silence from men’s players

“Please, please be the voice of the girls at the moment. Please do more for us. Start doing something for women. You are the voice of Afghanistan. They are the most famous people at the moment. They can be the voice of millions and millions of girls,” a former contracted Afghan women cricketer Firooza Amiri told ESPNCricinfo.

Ever since the Taliban gained control of Afghanistan in 2021, the state of women’s rights has been questionable. The most basic of freedoms has been taken away from the women in the country. The right to study, work out in the gym, speak in public, or even work in private sectors has been scrapped or amended. The last straw was banning women from medical education. And while the women in the nation had to accept their fate due to the several restrictions, the ones who managed to flee the country have been enraged and r aising their voices against the Taliban .

Even their first-ever woman Olympian, wanted Afghanistan banned from the Olympics. Former judoka Friba Rezayee became the first woman to represent Afghanistan at the Olympics when she took part in the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

“Given tons and tons of evidence about the Taliban, about their brutal treatment of women and children, they are very dangerous,” Rezayee, who now lives in Vancouver, told Reuters before the Paris Olympics. “If the IOC allows them to enter the Olympics at the heart of Europe, in Paris in 2024, it’s very dangerous for the people.”

Shouldn’t Afghan men’s cricketers stand up for their women players?

Now the women cricketers want the most popular male cricketers, to stand up. While the superstars recently did speak out for the first time on the issue of education being taken away from women , there has been radio silence from these superstars on the women’s cricket issue.

The lack of support has forced cricketers like Amiri to flee Afghanistan and settle in Australia, where she is playing club cricket. In 2024, they urged the ICC to help them set up a refugee team based in Australia, but nothing has happened on that front as well.

While the women’s unit is struggling to get recognition, the men’s side is only growing in stature, beating top teams the world over, and qualifying for the semi-finals of the 2024 T20 World Cup . They have become the face of the contrast that exists in one sport in the country, which is the reason for such resentment against Afghan cricket.

Australia has refused to play any bilateral series against them. In England and South Africa, politicians want their sides to take a stance against Afghanistan in the Champions Trophy . They even demanded the ICC to take action against the country. And even after all this, the question is, why have the Afghanistan male cricketers remain silent?

Maybe the fear of the Taliban has been way too much for them. “I know that 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,” Amiri added.

Still, sports has often served as a vehicle to tear down walls. Nobody understands this better than the men’s team. They changed the landscape of how Afghanistan would be perceived as a cricketing nation. They rose from a war-torn nation to challenge the most established cricketing sides. Shouldn’t they stand up for their women cricketers to bring a change?