Human Rights Watch Demands ICC Ban on Afghanistan Over Women’s Rights

Human Rights Watch (HRW) is urging the International Cricket Council (ICC) to suspend Afghanistan’s membership and prevent the country, under Taliban rule, from competing in international cricket. In a letter to ICC chair Jay Shah, made public on March 7th, HRW argued that this ban should remain until Afghan women and girls are once again allowed to participate in education and sports.

HRW, a globally recognized non-governmental organization focused on human rights, also called on the ICC to establish a human rights policy, based on the United Nations’ guidelines for businesses and human rights.

The letter acknowledges the ICC chair’s stated commitment to increasing resources for women’s cricket. However, HRW points out that since the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in August 2021, they have implemented increasingly restrictive rules denying women and girls basic rights. These restrictions include limitations on freedom of speech, movement, employment, and education beyond primary school, impacting nearly every aspect of their lives, including basic necessities.

HRW emphasized the ICC’s own anti-discrimination policy, which aims to ensure cricket is inclusive and free from discrimination based on factors like sex or gender. They argue that by prohibiting women and girls from playing cricket and preventing a national women’s team from competing internationally, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) is violating this policy.

The rights organization also highlighted the apparent contradiction in the ICC’s actions. While funding for Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team was stopped in 2021, the men’s team continues to receive financial and logistical support from the ICC.

HRW further stressed that cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics makes the situation even more critical. The Taliban’s ban on women’s participation in sports directly violates the Olympic Charter, which guarantees sport as a fundamental human right.

Since the Taliban’s return to power, women in Afghanistan face escalating restrictions in public life, including sports. Prior to this, the ACB had contracted 25 women cricketers, most of whom now live in exile in Australia. Last year, these exiled players appealed to the ICC to recognize them as a refugee team. Some of these players recently formed an Afghanistan Women’s XI for a charity match in Melbourne.

Pressure has been growing on cricket bodies to take action. British MPs urged a boycott of England’s matches against Afghanistan, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called on the ICC to enforce its own rules. While England and Australia have avoided bilateral matches against Afghanistan, they have played them in ICC events, with calls for a unified ICC response rather than individual bans.

Former Afghan women cricketers have voiced mixed opinions, with some saying they don’t want to punish the men’s team as they represent hope, but also urging them to advocate more strongly for women’s and girls’ rights to play.

Human Rights Watch has requested the ICC to answer several questions. These include: the ICC’s progress on a human rights policy, reasons for not suspending the ACB, willingness to recognize the exiled Afghan women’s team, steps to pressure the ACB to include women’s cricket, and the level of ICC support for the ACB.

In conclusion, HRW urged the ICC to follow the lead of other sports bodies, like the International Olympic Committee, by publicly calling on the Taliban to allow women and girls in Afghan sports and committing to a framework that upholds human rights.