England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chairman Richard Gould has written to the International Cricket Council (ICC) urging the sport’s global governing body to consider taking action against the Afghanistan Cricket Board over the Taliban government’s treatment of women. .
Earlier this week, a group of more than 160 politicians, including Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn and Lord Kinnock, called for Britain to boycott next month’s Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan and to challenge the Taliban regime. signed a letter urging us to fight against attacks on women’s rights.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called on the ICC to “communicate its own rules” and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the match “must go ahead” to avoid disadvantage to the England team, but senior British figures have called for the game to be postponed. It was suggested that it should be ignored. event.
“What is happening in Afghanistan is the most serious violation of women’s rights on the planet,” Gould wrote.
“The ECB has maintained its position that it does not plan to schedule bilateral cricket matches against Afghanistan. We have expressed this concern for two years, hoping the debate would lead to further action, but unfortunately this has not materialized.
“While many domestic stakeholders continue to call for a boycott of Champions Trophy matches, a coordinated approach led by the ICC will have a much greater impact than unilateral action by individual members.
“We want to work with you and other members to find solutions that give us hope that the rights of Afghan women and girls can be restored.”
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team left the country in August 2021 and most of them are currently based in Australia.
Gould also urged the ICC to urgently consider “immediately placing conditions on the Afghanistan Cricket Board’s membership status to provide for women’s cricket by a certain deadline” and restrict a “meaningful proportion” of ACB funding until the women’s game resumes. urged to do so.
Women’s participation in sport has been effectively outlawed since the Taliban took power in 2021, a move by the ACB that directly contravenes cricket’s governing body’s rules.
The women’s cricket team fled the country seeking refuge in Pakistan before receiving emergency visas, with most now residing in Australia.
Under Taliban rule, payments to the women’s team were halted and the team received no communication from the cricket director despite several attempts to contact them.
Female athletes in Afghanistan had their homes raided by the Taliban and some of them were forced to burn their equipment.
Gould also called on the ICC to support the exiled women’s national team “through funding and advocacy to enable them to compete as Afghan refugee national teams.” This model is the one adopted by the International Olympic Committee for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In 2021, the ICC established the Afghanistan Working Group to influence change in the country and monitor the situation.
However, the board as a whole was all male and after the 2023 meeting, the cricket chief significantly increased the Afghanistan budget but provided no update on the women’s team.
Other conditions outlined by Gould in his letter include: “Reform the existing Afghanistan Working Group to monitor and oversee this work by providing regular and objective assessments of the progress of the Afghanistan Cricket Board.
“This group seeks expert views on this topic so we can empower and empower leaders to make informed and supported decisions.
“If we do not take action – while recognizing that much is not within our power – we are all complicit and have forfeited the privilege that comes with securing a global leadership position in our sport.”
