SYDNEY: Australia pulled out of an upcoming cricket series against Afghanistan in the United Arab Emirates on Thursday, citing Taliban moves to further restrict women’s rights.

The men’s team were due to face their Afghan counterparts in three ODI games in March following a tour to India.

The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) in Kabul described Australia’s decision as “pathetic”.

“The decision to withdraw... is unfair and unexpected and will have a negative impact on the development and growth of cricket in Afghanistan as well as will affect the love and passion of the Afghan nation for the game,” the ACB said in a statement, which did not mention the shrinking of women’s rights in Afghanistan nor the Taliban’s ban on female sport.

“By prioritising political interests over the principles of fair play and sportsmanship, Cricket Australia is undermining the integrity of the game and damaging the relationship between the two nations.”

The ACB said it would contact the International Cricket Council (ICC) and was considering withdrawing its players from Australia’s domestic Big Bash League in retaliation.

CA said their decision was taken after talks with parties concerned that included the Australian government.

“This decision follows the recent announcement by the Taliban of further restrictions on women’s and girls’ education and employment opportunities and their ability to access parks and gyms,” it said in a statement.

“CA is committed to supporting growing the game for women and men around the world, including in Afghanistan.

“[We] will continue to engage with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in anticipation of improved conditions for women and girls in the country,” it said.The series formed part of the ICC Super League, where the top eight teams automatically qualify for the 2023 World Cup. Australia have already qualified for the tournament.

Teams are awarded 10 points for wins, meaning Afghanistan, who are seventh in the standings, are set to receive 30 points for Australia’s forfeiture, boosting their hopes of securing qualification for this year’s World Cup in India.Afghan ODI and Test captain Hashmatullah Shahidi said “fans and people of Afghanistan who have suffered immensely due to conflict... don’t want politics brought into sports”.

“Cricket is the most loved sport in the country and one of the main sources of happiness,” he said on Twitter, asking CA to reconsider its decision.

Pace bowler Naveen-ul-Haq has already suggested he would pull out of the Big Bash League where he plays for the Sydney Sixers.

“When a country is going through so much in place [of] being supportive you want to take the only reason of happiness from them,” he tweeted.

Afghanistan remain the only ICC full member nation of without a women’s team. They have continued to appear at ICC events since the Taliban takeover, however, and faced Australia during last year’s T20 World Cup.

ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice has said Afghanistan’s lack of commitment to women’s cricket is a concern for the sport’s global governing body and that the matter will be discussed at its next board meeting.

“Our board has been monitoring progress since the change of regime,” Allardice said. “It is a concern that progress is not being made in Afghanistan and it’s something our board will consider at its next meeting in March. As far as we are aware, there isn’t activity at the moment.”

The Taliban regained control of Kabul in August 2021 and quickly began placing restrictions on women’s participation in sport.

The hardline Islamists initially promised a softer approach than their first stint in power from 1996 to 2001, a period notorious for rights abuses that included public executions and floggings.

They have gradually reintroduced an extreme interpretation of Islamic law, or sharia, and women have seen rights evaporate as they are squeezed out of public life.

The Taliban barred teenage girls from attending secondary schools and then last month banned women from attending universities, prompting global outrage and protests in some Afghan cities.

They then decreed at the end of last month that Afghan women could no longer work for NGOs, at a time when Afghanistan faces one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with its population of 38 million hungry and three million children at risk of malnutrition.

Most women government workers have lost their jobs. Women are also barred from travelling without a male relative and have been told they must cover up with a burqa or hijab when outside the home.

In November, women were also banned from entering parks, funfairs, gyms and public baths.

Published in Dawn, January 13th, 2023