Taliban say women won’t be allowed to play sport

The Taliban have confirmed that women won’t be allowed to play cricket or any other sport, throwing into doubt November’s historic men’s cricket Test between Australia and Afghanistan. In an exclusive interview with SBS News, the deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, said that sport is not seen as something that is important for women.

The deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, Ahmadullah Wasiq, told SBS news that it is “unecessary” for women to play cricket. “In cricket, they might face a situation where their face and body will not be covered. Islam does not allow women to be seen like this. It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed. In cricket and other sports, women will not get an Islamic dress code. It is obvious that they will get exposed and will not follow the dress code, and Islam does not allow that.” He said Islam allowed women to go out on a needs basis such as for shopping. Sport is not considered a need. Mr Wasiq told SBS Pashto last month that the Taliban would allow men’s cricket to continue and that it has given the green light for the men’s national team to travel to Australia for a test match in Hobart later this year. Aghanistan are scheduled to take part in the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in October and November, before flying to Hobart to play Australia in the first ever Test between the two countries.