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  With the announcement of the newly elected cabinet of the Islamic Emirates of Afghanistan (IEA) in the non-time bound interim government setup under the Taliban, statements and orders have started to come out from various ministries, which are putting the issue of acceptance and legitimacy of the group's rule in the country, under serious scrutiny.

One of the decisions taken by the IEA's cultural commission, womens have been barred from playing cricket or any other sports, in which their bodies could be seen.

"It wasn't necessary for women to play cricket because they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this", said Ahmadullah Wasiq, deputy head of Taliban's cultural commission, during an interview with SBS News.

The decision has raised many questions over the future of Afghanistan in international cricket and other sports.

The ban has already started to get strong reactions as Cricket Australia has said that it would cancel the upcoming Test match against Afghanistan, scheduled for November this year, if women are not allowed to play the sport under the Taliban regime.

"If recent media reports that women's cricket will not be supported in Afghanistan are substantiated, Cricket Australia would have no other alternative but to not host Afghanistan for the proposed Test Match due to be played in Hobart," said Australian Sports minister Richard Colbeck.

"Individual Afghanistan athletes would continue to be welcome in Australia but not under the Taliban flag if females cannot compete."

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has also stated that the issue of Afghanistan's new status will come under discussion at their next board meeting.

The ICC said that it is closely monitoring the situation in Afghanistan and expressed concerned about reports of women being barred from playing cricket.

"This and the impact it will have on the continued development of the game will be discussed by the ICC Board and its next meeting," said a Council spokesperson.

On the other hand, the Afghanistan Cricket Board expected such a stance by the Taliban led government and admitted that women game was in perils.

Afghanistan's men's cricket team is a full member of the ICC and is due to play in the T20 World Cup.

However, with the ban on female cricket and sports in the country, cricket authorities are now looking towards the implications of the ICC recognition to Afghanistan, a country that happens to be the only nation to be given full membership status to the ICC without having an operational women's team in place.


In athletics Its very difficult to wearing covered from head to toe, with a headscarf and a long-sleeved sweater. 






Robina Muqimyar of Afghanistan 
Robina Muqimyar of Afghanistan competes in the women's 100m heats during the athletics competitions in the National Stadium at the Beijing 2008 Olympics in Beijing
Robina Muqimyar, (born July 3, 1986) was one of the first two women ever to represent Afghanistan at the Olympic Games, by competing along.





Tahmina Kohistani of Afghanistan
Tahmina Kohistani is the only female Afghan competing in the year 2012 summer Olympics in London. She's not so interested in winning gold than in inspiring Afghan girls to take up sport.


    Tahmina Kohistani strikes an unusual appearance in the stadium. As opposed to her fellow female runners, she is not wearing a sports bra or shorts. The 22-year-old is covered from head to toe, with a headscarf and a long-sleeved sweater. Although her chances of winning the 100-meter sprint are lower than those of her competitors, she is very glad to be in London. "What's important for me is to take part in the Olympic Games - for me, my people and my homeland."

Insulted for choosing sport

Tahmina is the only woman allowed to represent her country in London this year. She has been running and dreaming of taking part in the Olympic Games for eight years already. Her intensive training for the summer games started six months ago at Kabul's Ghazi stadium but technical restrictions have made it tough. Karim, her trainer, says that she could "win gold if she had better training conditions."

She has also not had an easy time of it because of the poor security situation and social restrictions. "Three cars have to protect me when I go to the stadium in the mornings," she told . "Many people have insulted me because of the path I've chosen to take."

Tahmina refuses to judge her fellow Afghans, however. She understands that the country is going through a phase of reconstruction and that people need time to get used to more modern conditions.

But she is glad she has been lucky with her family. "My father has always said I made the right decision and that I should prove to people I have done nothing wrong. Every woman should say 'I want to be like Tahmina,' he says."

Determined to support female athletes

Apart from training, Tahmina was also studying to be a sports teacher at Kabul University. In her spare time, she writes poems about injustice and other social issues, calling for more acceptance and tolerance but she usually tears them up.

"Before, my greatest desire was to take part in the Olympic Games. I worked eight years for this. Now, I want my country to accept and support women doing sport." 
That's why she wants to open a sports academy for women when she goes back to Kabul. Not only so that women can win competitions but also for their health and general well-being.

Before this she has one task to fulfill in London - she wants to inspire young Afghan girls and women to take up sport. This would be worth much more than a gold medal for her and her country, she says.


Taliban Hates Women's Sports', Panicky Afghanistan Football Officials Want Refuge In India



Afghanistan's women football
Afghanistan's women footballers and sports administrators with a liberal mind face uncertain times with Taliban taking control of the war-ravaged nation.


Senior officials of the Afghanistan Football Federation are seeking refuge in India in the wake of Taliban taking control of the war-ravaged nation According to a senior football functionary in India, officials in Afghanistan, who don't wish to be identified, are fearing a backlash from the brutal Talibanis for promoting women's football in the country.


 Afghanistan's women football  Shabnam Mabarz, right, wearing the new head-to-toe outfit with an integrated hijab

Australia's SBS TV has quoted a Taliban spokesperson as saying that women's sports and women's cricket specifically will be banned by his group in Afghanistan.

"In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this," the network quoted Ahmadullah Wasiq, the deputy head of the Taliban's cultural commission, as saying.  It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed."

Wasiq last month told SBS that the Taliban would allow men's cricket to continue and that it has given approval for the men's national team to travel to Australia for a test match in November.

But in a statement released Thursday, Cricket Australia said it would not proceed with the planned test starting Nov. 27 if news reports of Taliban views on the women's game were true.

"Driving the growth of women's cricket globally is incredibly important to Cricket Australia," the statement said. "Our vision for cricket is that it is a sport for all and we support the game unequivocally for women at every level.

"If recent media reports that women's cricket will not be supported in Afghanistan are substantiated, Cricket Australia would have no alternative but to not host Afghanistan for the proposed test match due to be played in Hobart."


Australia's Sport Minister Richard Colbeck said earlier that the Taliban's decision on women's sport was "deeply concerning" and he urged organizations such as the International Cricket Council to take action.
"Excluding women from sport at any level is unacceptable," Colbeck said in a statement. "We urge international sport authorities, including the International Cricket Council, to take a stand against this appalling ruling."

Players from Afghanistan's women's soccer team are among dozens of athletes given visas to live in Australia and have been undergoing quarantine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

On Tuesday, the Taliban announced an all-male interim government for Afghanistan stacked with veterans of their hard-line rule from the 1990s and the 20-year battle against the U.S.-led coalition.

A policy statement accompanying the Cabinet announcement sought to allay fears of Afghanistan's neighbors and the rest of the world, but was unlikely to calm the fears of women, who didn't get a single post.

The statement spoke of protecting the rights of minorities and the underprivileged, and it promised education "to all countrymen within the framework of Sharia." Women were not mentioned in the three-page statement.

    Last Saturday, Taliban special forces in camouflage fired their weapons into the air to end a protest march in Kabul by women demanding equal rights. In a nation where most women remain second-class citizens, many cloaked from head-to-toe in burkas, one group has broken down formidable barriers by forming an Afghanistan women’s football league. The standards of the grounds, and the play, may fall short of world class, but the delight at breaking the shackles of the conservative society is clear to see. So too is the determination to become the new face of Afghan women, gaining dignity for themselves and other women in their war-torn country while also improving their image worldwide.


The competitors in the Kabul league do have to make some concessions to the conservative protocols of the society, wearing head scarves and also covering their legs, yet even those accommodations have done little to reduce the disapproval and even ostracism they face for entering what is regarded as a male preserve. The sport is very popular in Afghanistan, even if it is rare to find more than rudimentary facilities anywhere outside the capital. Even rarer is the sight and sound of women on the pitch.But at a recent semifinal match of the Kabul Women’s Premier League at the Football Federation Stadium, the shouts of encouragement and joy were unmistakably female and were not dampened by the heavy rain, even if the stands were largely empty.

“It is disappointing, but we are grateful to have it,” Afghan Club player Nadia Derweshi said of the meager attendance at the league semifinal game which her team won 4-0.

    Derweshi started playing football eight years ago and is a goalkeeper for the female national team. Hajar Abulfazl, a 22-year old national team player, says it will take the passing of generations for Afghan society to accept girls and women playing football, yet she is optimistic about the future and the progress of her teammates.

    “It is very difficult to convince families to accept and let their daughters to join in a football team,” said Abulfazl, who herself doubts and resistance from many when she took up sports but was thankful for the support of her parents.

     Abulfazl who is also director of Afghanistan’s female football committee, says that at least 22 female teams are registered, so far only in Kabul, but in other more conservative rural provinces there was little progress. The Afghan football federation women’s committee was established only in 2004. During the early years the committee started by picking football fans from local schools and initially it was difficult to find girls and young women who were willing and able to take what was the relatively risky and fraught step of joining an organized league.

   When the committee was first established, the only members were seven sports trainers from local schools around Kabul. Now the committee’s website says there are nearly 1,000 participants.
   Mohammad Yousef Kargar, the coach of Afghanistan’s national men’s team in two stints up until the start of this year, said the medium-term goal for the women’s team is participation in the South Asian Games, though he recognizes the impediments. “In a conservative country like Afghanistan there are many limitations when it comes about women,” Kargar said. “It is not easy to implement all plans or programs.


 Afghanistan Women Cricketer