In a terrific show of support, King Charles met the exiled Afghan women cricketers in England on Wednesday.
The Taliban, which has been in power in Afghanistan for quite some time now, has banned its female players from pursuing studies as well as any sporting activities, as it interferes with their ideology. If truth be told, life has been particularly hard for women in Afghanistan post the Taliban’s takeover in 2021.
They have been forced to completely cover themselves, besides being forced into traditional roles. Since the ban, many Afghan female athletes have managed to leave the country, but not before facing an ordeal of one type or another. An overwhelming majority of them have moved to Australia.
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The women’s T20 World Cup is underway in England, and the Afghan cricketers are there to play a few exhibition matches. Shabnam Snahsan, one of the players, expressed her disappointment that they are not part of the ongoing tournament. They could have been if not for the lack of official recognition from the Taliban.
“Back in Afghanistan, women don’t have the right to play cricket, even to go out, to study or anything,” she said.
“We’re here to play cricket – but it’s not just cricket, we’re here to fight for them, and this has meant a lot for us,” she added.
Ekil Latifi, who left Afghanistan in 2021 at the age of 17, managed to have a little conversation with the King. She echoed Snahsan’s sentiments on how important it was for them to show the Afghan women back home the way. “It’s all about the Afghan women back in our country,” she said.
King Charles played his part to a tee!
King Charles was quite endearing to the players during the photo-op. He spoke to a few of them and looked very keen on knowing how they had escaped Afghanistan. King Charles, who has a reputation for being funny, did make a few light-hearted comments. “If you lose, you can blame me for interrupting your training,” he said.
King Charles was all praise for the Afghan cricketers. “I’m so glad that you can pursue what you want to do,” he said. The event was hosted at Clarence House, the royal residence in London, amid a massive heatwave threat. But the monarch was all sport, nicely dressed up, looking cheerful, which was the need of the hour for the Afghan women in distress. The message to the Taliban was quite clear, wasn’t it?