Human Rights Watch has called for the International Cricket Council to suspend Afghanistan in response to the Taliban’s assault on women’s rights.
All female sport is effectively outlawed under the regime, with the majority of the women’s cricket team living in exile.
That places the country in direct contravention of the ICC’s own terms of membership but the Afghanistan men’s team has been allowed to continue taking part in the international game, including the ICC Champions Trophy.
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team fled the country in 2021 after the Taliban regained power, with most of the team finding refuge in Australia
England came under political pressure to boycott their group match against them, eventually losing after opting to go ahead with the fixture.
HRW’s director of global initiatives Minky Worden made a fresh call for the game’s governing body to take action, penning an email to ICC chair Jay Shah saying: “We are writing at this time to urge the International Cricket Council to suspend Taliban-run Afghanistan from ICC membership, and from participating in international cricket, until women and girls can once again participate in education and sport in the country.
“We also urge the ICC to implement a human rights policy based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton discuss why there were calls for England to boycott their Champions Trophy game vs Afghanistan and the ICC’s response to the issue
“By not allowing women and girls to play cricket, and not allowing a national team for women and girls to compete internationally, the Afghanistan Cricket Board is failing to abide by (the ICC’s) Anti-Discrimination Policy.
“With cricket entering the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, global sponsors of cricket and the International Olympic Committee can no longer ignore the Taliban’s blatant gender discrimination and violation of Olympic principles.
“The International Cricket Council has the responsibility to ensure its systems do not ignore, or worse, encourage systematic gender discrimination.”
Afghanistan were eliminated in the group stage at the Champions Trophy after a rain-off against Australia ended their hopes of reaching the semi-finals.
The team qualified for the semi-finals at last year’s T20 World Cup, while they finished sixth at the 50-over World Cup in 2023 after defeating England.
Sky Sports News has reached out to the ICC for comment.
