'We can be a voice for women': Afghan cricketers push for ICC recognition

Afghanistan's women's cricket team bowler Shafiqa Khan now lives as a refugee in Australia. (ABC News: Simon Beardsell) Afghanistan's women's cricket team has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to follow FIFA's lead and recognise their exiled team. Sport integrity expert Catherine Ordway said, "The Taliban's message on gender apartheid is completely unacceptable." The ICC meets in Scotland from July 8 to 11 for their Annual Conference, although the Afghan women's team is not currently on the agenda. Link copiedShareShare articleAfghanistan's exiled women's cricket team has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to follow the lead of FIFA by recognising displaced players as eligible for international competition. FIFA cleared the way for Afghani footballers, many of whom now reside in Australia, to return to international competition in April. The team has not played an official competitive international since before the Taliban returned to power in 2021, with authorities imposing sweeping restrictions on women and girls, including restrictions affecting education, work and sport, forcing many female athletes to flee the country or simply abandon competition. Now, Canberra-based Afghan women's player Shafiqa Khan hopes cricket will follow suit, telling ABC Sport she felt "very proud and emotional" upon hearing about FIFA's landmark decision. Shafiqa Khan has urged the ICC to emulate FIFA's decision to recognise her displaced team. (ABC News: Simon Beardsell) "FIFA has given significant hope to many Afghan women athletes and shown that no matter where they live, they can represent their country and follow their passion," Khan said. "It [would] mean a lot and it would be an unforgettable moment for all Afghan women who live back home and are denied their basic rights. "We can represent Afghan women who live back home and be a voice for a million girls who are denied their basic rights and follow their passion." Last year, the ICC announced the creation of a monetary fund and task force to support the displaced Afghan women's cricket team. The statement said the ICC would partner with the cricket boards of Australia, England and India to provide "meaningful support" to Afghan women. Dr Catherine Ordway (centre) was instrumental in the Afghan women's cricket team escaping the Taliban. (ABC News: Donal Sheil) However, Dr Catherine Ordway noted that task force, the second established by the ICC, has only met once and has even resisted calls for a representative of the Afghan women's team to be included. "It's absolutely not a good look," Dr Ordway, a sport integrity expert and visiting scholar at UNSW'S School of Business Canberra, told ABC Sport. "There's an example already out there with the international federation for football [FIFA], and I hope that other international federations will follow suit, including the cricketers. A FIFA rule change has allowed the Afghan women's football team to compete in official internationals for the first time since the Taliban took over in 2021. "The ICC has put together a task force … but they do not have a plan as far as we can see. "At the moment it's just made up of the Indian cricket, English cricket and Australian cricket representatives but none of the women are represented and they do not have a plan going forward after the funding ends in August. "That's really concerning for the women's team. "They want to send a strong message to the women and girls stuck inside Afghanistan who are not allowed to get educated, can't work, can't move freely, much less play cricket. They want to send a strong message that women can do anything but the ICC just hasn't stepped up to the plate yet." Since the Taliban takeover, there has been considerable controversy surrounding the Afghan men's team's continued involvement in international cricket, with ICC regulations requiring all full member nations to have a national women's team. Cricket Australia has twice postponed limited overs bilateral series between the two nations due to human rights concerns. However, the countries have played each other as part of ICC tournaments during that time, and Afghanistan retains its status as a Test-playing nation. Dr Catherine Ordway was the first person to contact the Afghan cricket team in 2021. (ABC News: Donal Sheil) As cricket prepares to make its return to the Olympics in LA, it is unclear how Afghanistan's attitude to women's cricketers fits within the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Charter. The Olympic Charter states that "the practice of sport is a human right" and that "every individual must have access to the practice of sport, without discrimination of any kind in respect of internationally recognised human rights". The charter goes on to state that "discrimination of any kind" is contrary to the Fundamental Principles of Olympism. ABC Sport Daily is your daily sports conversation. We dive into the biggest story of the

'We can be a voice for women': Afghan cricketers push for ICC recognition

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