Australia pull out of cricket series against Afghanistan over women’s rights concerns
The two sides were due to contest a T20 series in the United Arab Emirates later this year
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Australia have called off a T20 series against Afghanistan citing a deteriorating human rights situation for women and girls in the Taliban-ruled country, Cricket Australia (CA) said on Tuesday.
Australia withdrew from a one-day series scheduled for March last year in the United Arab Emirates after the Taliban imposed strict restrictions on Afghan women, including banning them from attending universities.
The teams were scheduled to play three T20 matches in the UAE in August this year but CA said that after consultations with the Australian government it had decided to call off the series.
“The government’s advice is that conditions for women and girls in Afghanistan are getting worse,” the cricket board said in a statement.
“For this reason, we have maintained our previous position and will postpone the bilateral series against Afghanistan.”
The Afghanistan Cricket Board was not immediately available to comment.
CA added that it would engage with its Afghan counterpart as well as the International Cricket Council to “... determine what actions could be taken to support the resumption of bilateral matches in the future”.
Afghanistan’s women team were disbanded and several members fled the country after the country’s Taliban takeover in 2021.
Australia also cancelled a one-off test against Afghanistan in Hobart the same year.
Reuters
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments