Human Rights Watch Calls for ICC to Suspend Afghanistan’s Cricket Membership

RASC News Agency: Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged the International Cricket Council (ICC) to suspend Afghanistan’s membership, citing the Taliban’s control over the national cricket team and its systemic violations of women’s rights. The organization criticized the ICC’s silence on the Taliban’s sweeping bans against women and girls in sports, calling it a flagrant disregard for fundamental human rights. Afghanistan’s national cricket team has repeatedly come under scrutiny for its close ties to senior Taliban officials, particularly Sirajuddin Haqqani, the group’s interior minister. Critics argue that such associations lend legitimacy to the Taliban’s rule while standing in stark contrast to the group’s continued suppression of women, who remain barred from education, employment, and sports. In response to this growing controversy, HRW addressed a letter to ICC Chairman Jay Amitbhai Shah on March 7, 2025, condemning the council’s failure to take a firm stance against the Taliban’s gender-based restrictions.
The letter emphasized that since the Taliban’s return to power, all forms of sports participation for women and girls in Afghanistan have been outlawed, forcing many female athletes into hiding or exile. HRW further stressed that members of Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team continue their training in secrecy and deserve official recognition and participation in international competitions. The organization accused the ICC of repeatedly ignoring the team’s appeals for support and intervention. Minky Worden, HRW’s Director of Global Initiatives, denounced the Taliban’s systemic gender discrimination, particularly in the realm of sports, stating: “The ICC has a duty to ensure that its policies neither overlook nor, worse, enable systematic gender-based oppression.”
The letter also pointed out that the ICC’s anti-discrimination policy explicitly commits the council to fostering an inclusive environment, ensuring that all individuals involved in the sport players, officials, supporters, and commercial partners can enjoy cricket free from discrimination based on gender, sexual orientation, disability, marital status, or pregnancy. Under ICC regulations, full-member nations must maintain a women’s cricket team to retain their men’s team’s official status in international competitions. Afghanistan has failed to meet this requirement since August 2021.
Afghanistan’s female cricketers have repeatedly petitioned the ICC for recognition and support, yet their pleas have gone unanswered. HRW has also urged the ICC to condition financial assistance on gender equality compliance. The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, featuring eight teams, including Afghanistan, is scheduled to take place in Dubai on March 9, 2025. However, with mounting international pressure, Afghanistan’s participation could be jeopardized if the ICC heeds HRW’s call for decisive action.