Afghanistan: The women’s soccer team arrives in Pakistan

THE women’s soccer team of Afghanistan has arrived in neighboring Pakistan, the intelligence minister in Islamabad said on Tuesday as the status of Afghan women athletes with the Taliban in power remains unclear.

“We welcome the Afghan women’s soccer team, they have arrived at the Torkham border from Afghanistan,” Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said on Twitter, adding that the team had been received by a Pakistani Football Federation spokesman.

Chondri did not give more details and it was not immediately clear how many players have entered his country and what their plans are.

Their departure is part of a wider exodus of Afghan intellectuals and public figures, mostly women, since the Taliban seized power a month ago.

The last time the Islamist movement came to power in Afghanistan two decades ago, girls were not allowed to go to school and women were not allowed to study or work. Women were also banned from playing sports and this is likely to happen this time as well.

A Taliban spokesman told Australian television station SBS last week that he did not believe women should be allowed to play cricket because it was “not necessary” and was opposed to Islam.

“Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or engage in sports that expose their bodies,” said Ahmad Wasik, the Taliban’s deputy head of the cultural committee, according to the network.

Many former and current soccer players have fled the country since the Taliban came to power, and a former women’s soccer team leader has called on players staying in Afghanistan to burn their sports equipment and delete their social media accounts. avoid retaliation.

The International Football Association (IFF) announced last month that it was working to remove the other players from the country.

(file photo)