"Afghan women’s team have the right to play"
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy has stated that Afghan women have the right to play cricket. She asserted that the UK government is “putting all the pressure that we can”.
All female sports have been effectively outlawed in Afghanistan, leaving the majority of Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team living in exile.
The England men’s cricket team has continued to face calls to boycott their upcoming match against Afghanistan, which will take place in Lahore on February 26, 2025.
Calls for a boycott are in protest of the assault on women’s rights under the Taliban regime.
However, the UK government does not support any boycott. Such a stance has led to criticism.
Lisa Nandy said a boycott of the upcoming match would be “counterproductive”:
“The Prime Minister made clear that we believe that the rules ought to be upheld and that the Afghan women’s team have the right to play in international tournaments.
“We want the ruling body of international cricket to take that stance.
“We’ve been working closely with the England [and Wales] Cricket Board [ECB] in order to make that clear. We think that’s the right approach.
“It’s not the athletes’ fault. It’s not the cricket team’s fault that this has happened, and we do think that boycotts can be counterproductive.
“But we are absolutely crystal clear that the rules must be upheld, and we’re bringing all the pressure that we can to bear to make sure that […] Afghan women can play cricket as they deserve.
“They’ve earned the right to do so, and they ought to be able to do so.”
Nandy added: “I don’t think we are doing business as usual.
“I think there’s been very strong statements, there’s been work behind the scenes to try and bring coordinated pressure to bear to ensure that the right of Afghan women to play cricket is upheld.
“And there is, of course, a much wider issue about women’s rights in Afghanistan, which the Foreign Secretary has pursued relentlessly since we took office back in July.
“This Government takes the rights of women in Afghanistan incredibly seriously, and we’re doing everything that we can to try and uphold those rights.”
Nandy’s comments come after a cross-party group of more than 160 MPs and peers called for a boycott in a letter to the ECB earlier in 2025.
ECB Chief Executive Richard Gould condemned the “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan when writing to the International Cricket Council (ICC).
However, Gould rejected the idea of withdrawing from the game and instead called for cohesive action.
Gould called for Afghanistan’s funding to be withheld until women’s cricket is reinstated and support is given to Afghan women’s players.
Calls for a boycott have not stopped. For example, the women’s group Sisters Salon Brighton posted the video below, which has been shared on platforms like X.
The Afghan Cricket Board receives $17M a year from the @ICC
Some of this is for the exiled women’s team & developing women & girls cricket
The women’s team has not received a penny & sports are banned for all females#TakeAction #LinkInBio#BoycottCricket #ItsJustNotCricket https://t.co/azDSKzvDoQ pic.twitter.com/wcLVkTIn4s
— Brighton Sisters Salon (@SistersSalon2) January 17, 2025
Hundreds of female athletes fled Afghanistan as the Taliban took over in August 2021. They escaped a hardline stance that essentially banned women’s sports and education.
Most of the Afghanistan women’s cricket team settled as refugees in Australia.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ABC) made a significant stride in November 2020. They handed 25 promising women cricketers professional contracts.
However, before the fledgling squad had a chance to play together, the Taliban captured the capital of Kabul. They then declared an end to women’s cricket.
Yet the ABC still receive funds from the ICC. Some of the funds are meant for the women’s team, one that is not permitted to exist.
Afghanistan’s women cricketers played their first game since fleeing their country on January 30, 2025, in Australia. They united for a charity match.
Captain Nahida Sapan, in the run-up to the game, stated:
“Together, we’re building not just a team; we’re building a movement for change and promise.”
“We have big hopes for this match because this match can open doors for Afghan women in education and sport in the future.”
Of the 25 women once contracted by the Afghanistan Cricket Board, 22 now live in Melbourne and Canberra, Australia.
Some of these players have lobbied the governing International Cricket Council in the hopes of forming a refugee team with some official status. This has not been successful thus far.
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