England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Richard Gould has written to his International Cricket Council (ICC) counterpart, urging the sport’s world 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, signed a letter encouraging England to boycott next month’s Champions League match against Afghanistan and speak out against the Taliban regime’s abuse of women’s rights.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called on the ICC to “issue their own rules” and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the game “must go ahead” to avoid punishing England, but suggested senior British officials refused. their rules: event.
“What is happening in Afghanistan is the worst violation of women’s rights anywhere in the world,” Gould wrote.
“The ECB has maintained its position by not scheduling any bilateral cricket matches against Afghanistan. We hoped that after two years of expressing this concern, it would lead to further action in the debate, but unfortunately that has not been the case.
“While many of our domestic stakeholders continue to call for a boycott of our play in the Champions Trophy, a coordinated approach led by the ICC will be far more effective than unilateral action by individual members.
“We want to work with you and other members to find a solution that gives hope that the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan can be restored.”
The Afghanistan women’s cricket team fled the country in August 2021 and most of them currently reside in Australia.
Gould also urged the ICC to immediately consider “immediately placing a condition on the membership status of the Afghanistan Cricket Board to deliver women’s cricket within a certain time frame” and blocking a “significant amount” of ACB funding until the women’s game is restored.
Women’s participation in the sport has been effectively banned since the Taliban return to power in 2021, a move which the ACB says is in direct contravention of cricket’s governing body’s rules.
The women’s cricket team fled the country, seeking asylum in Pakistan before being granted emergency visas for Australia, where most of them currently reside.
Payments by the women have been stopped under Taliban rule and the team has received no contact from cricket officials despite multiple attempts to get in touch.
Afghan female athletes’ homes raided by Taliban, some forced to burn their tracksuits
Gould also called on the ICC to support the exiled women’s team “through funding and advocacy so they can compete as an Afghan refugee team,” a model adopted by the International Olympic Committee for the 2024 Paris Games.
In 2021, the ICC established an Afghanistan task force to help influence change and monitor the situation in the country.
However, the entire board was all-male and after the 2023 meeting, cricket chiefs significantly increased Afghanistan’s budget while not providing an update on the women’s team.
Another condition that Gould outlined in his letter was: “Reform the existing Afghanistan Task Force to oversee and monitor this work with regular and objective assessment of Afghanistan Cricket Board’s progress.
“This group can seek expert input on this topic to empower and empower leaders to make informed and supported decisions.
“If we don’t take action that is within our power, while recognizing that it is not within our power, we are all complicit and have failed the privilege that comes from being a world leader in our sport.”
