Human Rights Watch has appealed to the International Cricket Council (ICC), urging them to suspend Afghanistan’s membership and prohibit the Taliban-led nation from participating in international cricket events.
In a letter dated February 3, made public on March 7, and addressed to ICC chairman Jay Shah, the NGO raised concerns about human rights. The letter, titled ‘Suspending the Afghanistan Cricket Board and Implementing a Human Rights Policy,’ requests the suspension until Afghan women and girls are allowed to engage in both education and sports again.
Human Rights Watch identifies itself as a non-governmental global organization committed to investigating and advocating against human rights violations perpetrated by both governments and non-governmental entities worldwide.
The letter emphasizes the necessity for the ICC to suspend Afghanistan from membership and international cricket participation until women’s and girls’ access to education and sport is reinstated in the country.
Furthermore, Human Rights Watch is urging the ICC to establish a human rights policy grounded in the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The communication references the ICC’s commitment to allocate more resources to women’s cricket. However, it highlights that since the Taliban’s resurgence in August 2021, numerous restrictive policies have been imposed, preventing women and girls from exercising fundamental rights, including freedom of expression, movement, employment, and education beyond primary level. These restrictions impact their rights to essential aspects of life such as life itself, sustenance, housing, healthcare, food, and water.
The letter further points out the ICC’s anti-discrimination policy, which aims to ensure cricket’s inclusivity, regardless of background, and protect participants from intimidating conduct based on factors like sex and gender.
Despite the suspension of payments to Afghanistan’s women’s team in 2021, the men’s team continues to receive financial and logistical support, which Human Rights Watch argues is inconsistent with the ICC’s anti-discrimination rules.
Human Rights Watch highlights that cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is undermined by the Taliban’s ban on women’s and girls’ participation, violating the Olympic Charter’s guarantee of sport as a human right.
Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, Afghan women face increasing restrictions across public life, including sports. Before this, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had planned to contract 25 women players, most of whom now live in exile in Australia.
Former members of the Afghanistan women’s national team have requested the ICC to recognize them as a refugee team. Some of these players participated in an exhibition match in Melbourne in January as part of the Afghanistan Women’s XI.
Around the same period, the ECB faced pressure to boycott a Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also called upon the ICC to enforce its regulations.
While England and Australia avoid bilateral matches with Afghanistan, they agree to play in ICC events. The ECB advocates for a unified, ICC-led strategy instead of individual actions from member countries.
The situation regarding banning the men’s team is complex. Some exiled Afghan women cricketers have expressed that they do not wish to see the men’s team banned as they represent hope, but they urge them to advocate more strongly for women’s rights to play.
Human Rights Watch has posed several questions to the ICC, seeking a prompt response. These include inquiries about the ICC’s progress in developing a human rights policy, the reasons for not suspending Afghanistan, and the possibility of recognizing the exiled Afghan women’s national team, enabling them to train, compete, and receive ICC financial support.
Further questions concern actions to pressure the ACB to include women in competitions and details of current and future financial support to the ACB.
Concluding the letter, Human Rights Watch urged the ICC to emulate other sporting bodies like the International Olympic Committee by demanding the inclusion of Afghan women and girls in sports and adopting a human rights framework.
The ICC has been contacted for comment on this matter.
