×
App Icon
The Standard e-Paper
Read Offline Anywhere
★★★★ - on Play Store
Download Now

Afghan women athletes barred from play, fear Taliban threats

Vocalize Pre-Player Loader

Audio By Vocalize

An Afghan women's soccer team poses for a photo in Kabul, Afghanistan, Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022. The ruling Taliban have banned women from sports as well as barring them from most schooling and many realms of work. A number of women posed for an AP photographer for portraits with the equipment of the sports they loved. Though they do not necessarily wear the burqa in regular life, they chose to hide their identities with their burqas because they fear Taliban reprisals and because some of them continue to practice their sports in secret. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Noura's determination to play sports was so great that she defied her family's opposition for years. Beatings from her mother and jeers from her neighbors never stopped her from the sports she loved.

But the 20-year-old Afghan woman could not defy her country's Taliban rulers. They have not just banned all sports for women and girls, they have actively intimidated and harassed those who once played, often scaring them from even practicing in private, Noura and other women say.

Premium Article

Get Full Access for Ksh299/Week.

Fact-first reporting that puts you at the heart of the newsroom. Subscribe for full access.
Continue Reading  →
What you get
  • Unlimited access to all premium content
  • Ad-free browsing experience
  • Mobile-optimised reading
  • Weekly newsletters & digests
Pay via
M - PESA
VISA
Airtel Money
Secure Payments Kenya's most trusted newsroom since 1902
By AFP 2 hrs ago
Sports
Ronaldo, 41, leads Portugal into his sixth World Cup
Sports
Kenya's Afcon dream is under threat as FKF officials fight
Sports
Kenyans now shift focus to Commonwealth Games after shining at Africa meet in Accra
Sports
New motorsports body up and running with autocross action at Stoni Athi