Human Rights Watch asks ICC to suspend Afghanistan’s membership

Human Rights Watch has called on the ICC to suspend Afghanistan’s membership and ban the Taliban-run nation from competing in international cricket.
The request came via an email addressed to ICC chair Jay Shah, dated February 3 and made public on March 7, with the subject line: “Suspending the Afghanistan Cricket Board and Implementing a Human Rights Policy”.

Human Rights Watch describes itself as an independent, international, non-governmental organisation that conducts research and advocacy on human rights abuses by states and non-state actors around the world.

“We are writing at this time to urge the International Cricket Council (ICC) to suspend Taliban-run Afghanistan from ICC membership, and from participating in international cricket, until women and girls can once again participate in education and sport in the country,” the email said.

“We also urge the ICC to implement a human rights policy based on the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

“We note that you have pledged ‘to allocate more resources to women’s cricket’ during your tenure at the helm of global cricket and ‘champion the ICC’s mission further by allocating more resources and attention to women’s cricket’.

“However, since retaking power in August 2021, the Taliban have imposed a long and growing list of rules and policies that bars women and girls from exercising their fundamental rights, including to freedom of expression and movement, many forms of employment, and education beyond sixth grade. These affect virtually all their rights, including to life, livelihood, shelter, health care, food, and water.”

The email went on to say that the ICC’s anti-discrimination policy for international cricket states that it is committed to ensuring that wherever cricket is played, it can be enjoyed by all participants regardless of their respective backgrounds. It pointed out that the policy also strives to ensure all participants can enjoy sport without being subjected to intimidating conduct on the basis of – among other factors – sex, gender, marital status and/or maternity status.

The email also argued that while payments to Afghanistan’s Women’s team were suspended in 2021, the country’s men’s team continues to receive financial and logistical support, apparently in contravention of the ICC’s own anti-discrimination rules.

“By not allowing women and girls to play cricket, and not allowing a national team for women and girls to compete internationally, the Afghanistan Cricket Board is failing to abide by this Anti-Discrimination Policy,” Human Rights Watch said.

Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, women have been forced to adhere to an increasingly restrictive range of laws barring them from most areas of public life, including sport. Shortly before that, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) had agreed to contract 25 women’s players, most of whom now live in exile in Australia.

In July last year, former members of the Afghanistan women’s national team, no longer recognised as such by the country’s Taliban rulers, wrote to the ICC asking to be recognised as a refugee team.

England and Australia have opted not to play Afghanistan in bilateral games, while agreeing to face them at ICC events, with ECB chief executive Richard Gould calling for a “co-ordinated, ICC-led, response” rather than unilateral action from individual countries.

Human Rights Watch asked for a timely response from the ICC to a number of questions, including what steps the governing body is taking towards developing a human rights policy, why it hasn’t suspended the ACB from playing international cricket until women and girls have access to education and sport and, would it be prepared to recognise the Afghanistan women’s national team in exile, allowing it to train, compete and receive ICC financial support.

It also asks what steps the ICC has taken or plans to take to “pressure the Afghanistan Cricket Board to include women and girl players in their competitions” and what funding or other support has been or will be provided to the Afghanistan Cricket Board.

“The International Cricket Council should follow in the steps of other sport governing bodies, such as the International Olympic Committee, by calling on the Taliban to include Afghan women and girls in sport, and committing to a human rights frame work,” the email concluded.

The ICC has been contacted for comment.