After more than three years of living in exile, the Afghanistan women’s cricket team will get the chance to represent their country for the first time since the Taliban took over in 2021.
The exiled cricketers will feature in a historic exhibition match against Cricket Without Borders (CWOB) at Junction Oval in Melbourne on January 30, before the Women’s Ashes day-night Test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
Since the Taliban regained power in 2021, women’s rights have rapidly deteriorated and they continue to face unprecedented devastation, including being unable to play sports, go to universities, or – more frighteningly – not being allowed to speak too loudly from within their own homes.
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team had to flee for safety in 2021 after the Taliban regained power but the men’s team have continued to play
“This match has so much more importance than ever,” says Chelsea Moscript, a cricketer for Australian Capital Territory who is coaching the Afghan women ahead of their fixture.
“These girls have gone through so much already in their lives from fleeing Afghanistan and becoming refugees in Australia and despite it all, they’ve continued to play cricket.
“For them to get an opportunity to go out there and play together as a team is something I know they’re also excited about and who knows when that next chance may be?
“They’re making history and it’s a really exciting time for them.”
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team fled the country in August 2021 and most of them currently reside in Australia
It is fitting too that CWOB, founded by Clare Cannon in 2011, were asked by Cricket Australia to play the Afghanistan team given their philosophy being rooted in ‘being bold, showing sportsmanship, having fun and making friends’.
“Empowering young women has always been what CWOB is about, so playing the Afghan women is a perfect fit, and a great honour for us,” Cannon said.
“We hope this first step is the beginning of a long journey for the Afghan Women’s XI.”
Coaching the CWOB team is Stephen Field, who also emphasised the importance of the organisation and the upcoming exhibition match.
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team were granted emergency visas and most of them now reside in Australia
“We all have the responsibility to carry this game forward and that’s what this match is about,” Field said.
In November 2021, former ICC chair Greg Barclay said the board was “committed” to supporting Afghanistan “to develop both men’s and women’s cricket”.
In July last year, the Afghanistan women’s team wrote a letter to Barclay to help them form a refugee team based in Australia but despite their impassioned plea, the team did not hear back from the cricket chiefs.
There also remains an inherent sense of injustice with the men’s team still being allowed to compete despite a clear violation of the International Cricket Council (ICC) rules, which states having a national women’s team is one of the main requirements for becoming a full member.
The Afghanistan men’s team have also retained their Test status and made considerable progress in recent times, beating Australia during the T20 World Cup last summer to reach their first-ever semi-final.
The year before, they also won four out of nine matches at the 50-over World Cup in India, including notable victories against England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
Afghanistan’s female athletes had their homes raided by the Taliban and some of them were forced to burn their kits
More recently, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Richard Gould wrote to his ICC counterpart urging them to take action against the Afghanistan Cricket Board over the Taliban government’s treatment of women.
A group of more than 160 politicians, including Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn, and Lord Kinnock, signed a letter encouraging England to boycott next month’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan.
Despite being pushed to the periphery, the Afghanistan women have remained determined to represent their country.
After more than three years, those dreams are about to become a reality.
