What next for Afghan women’s team cricketers?

There’s a Whatsapp display photo from Afghanistan that chills the bone. It shows a woman, dark circles under her eyes, rose in one hand, the other trying to push away a man’s hand covering her mouth from behind her. The man holds a sickle on her throat with the other hand. That image of silence and terror is what Afghanistan’s women cricketers—and indeed sportswomen from other fields and women in general—are going through as the Taliban has openly stated their intention of banning women’s sports in the country. In the space of 24 hours, however, the fate of the country’s two dozen-odd contracted women cricketers and the women officials around them has escalated from a Taliban policy issue to an international stand-off where sport and policy are poised to set terms of engagement between nations.

There were images of a men’s match being played with Taliban and Afghan flags waving from the stands, but the likely fate of women’s cricket was spelt out in an interview of Ahmadulllah Wasiq, head of the Taliban cultural commission to Australian public broadcaster SBS.

Wasiq said that women would “not be allowed” to play cricket. Because it was “not necessary” as it created situations where “their face and body will not be covered.” The Islamic emirate “do not allow women to play cricket or the kind of sports where they got exposed.” On Wednesday, the ICC noted its concern about the statements. On Thursday morning, Cricket Australia took a more forceful position, saying it could cancel hosting the Afghanistan men’s team in November if “reports that women’s cricket would not be supported in Afghanistan are substantiated.”

Cricket Australia have put down a line in the sand which could establish a precedent for other full member countries, including the BCCI which has been active in its support for Afghan cricket. Wasiq’s statements to SBS were dismissive of the consequences, of banned matches and international censure—“…if we face challenges and problems, we have fought for our religion so that Islam is to be followed. We will not cross Islamic values even if it carries opposite reactions.”

The ICC’s own position in the matter should crystallise in its board meeting in October, where the ACB will have to explain its stand with regard to women’s cricket under the Taliban. Afghanistan was made a full member of the ICC in 2017, on the understanding that it would develop the women’s game in the country. As a full member nation, it stood to receive between USD 50 and 55 million over an eight-year-period according to the 2015-2023 rights cycle revenue distribution model. ACB stands to lose this funding if the women’s game is banned in Afghanistan.

Due to their hazardous situation, no woman cricketer from Afghanistan is ready to speak openly about their past or their future. In a BBC report, there was strong criticism of the ICC with accusations that they were colluding with those in ACB who don’t want the women to play. Some others say that it was only because of pressure from the ICC that ACB scouts went out into the provinces to identify talent and begin the process to build an Afghan women’s team from 2017 onwards. Other than time in training camps, the women have not played in any international fixture, nor were there any moves to chart their course. Some believe that the men in the ACB would rather not bother with the women’s game.

Cricket Australia’s strong stance over the issue stands in contrast to ICC. CA is in sync with the Australian government’s speed of response around the women footballers. Former Socceroo captain Craig Foster said the Australian government through its foreign and immigration ministries had “moved quickly” to show “commitment” offering “assurances of protection” for the women athletes being evacuated along with their families. Foster, an active campaigner for athletes’ human rights, was involved in the meetings across time zones featuring activists, athletes, lawyers and governments that ensured around 100 Afghans, women footballers, athletes and families were evacuated before August 31. When talking about cricket Foster said, “each sport has a different culture” but pointed out that the presence of players associations became even more vital in such situations. “We have seen the problem with that with the Afghanistan crisis. We have to come together as athletes.”

Foster said “it’s a fraught, terrifying and troubling time” but that sporting bodies must be more proactive about protecting their athletes. “Crazily, characteristically, sport doesn’t move in this respect. I read that the IOC quickly evacuated some of its officials, people who sat on the National Olympic Committee, but what happened to the athletes?” Four decades ago, sport stood up against apartheid South Africa. No normal sport, the regime was told, in an abnormal society. South Africa’s formidable presence in rugby and cricket was diluted due to sanctions against the country’s participation in global events. Cricket is the heart and soul of Afghanistan’s global sporting presence and it is cricket that can take a lead in the pushback against the suppression of women’s sporting freedoms in that country.