UN Experts Urge IOC to Support Afghan Women Athletes

UN experts have called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to support Afghan women athletes and provide them with necessary resources.

The experts urged sports organisations to take action against the Taliban's ban on women's participation in sports, describing the Taliban's restrictions as an unacceptable violation of women's rights, with no parallel in any other country.

In a statement issued on Friday, UN experts, including Richard Bennett, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights for Afghanistan, condemned the Taliban's actions against women and girls in sports, labelling them as part of the group's discriminatory and oppressive policies against women, which may constitute crimes against humanity.

For nearly three years, women and girls in Afghanistan under Taliban control have been deprived of many of their rights, from the right to work and education to participating in sports, visiting parks, and travelling without a male guardian.

In this year's Olympic Games in Paris, three female and three male athletes represented Afghanistan, but the Taliban stated that they do not recognise the participation of Afghan women athletes at the Olympics.

The UN experts stressed that the severe deprivation of Afghan women and girls of their rights and dignity, including in sports, must end. They asserted that culture should not be used as an excuse for violating human rights, including cultural rights such as the right to participate in sports.

The UN experts emphasised that international sports organisations have a responsibility to oppose the Taliban's repressive policies and to support Afghan women athletes globally. While they welcomed the IOC's support for Afghan women athletes' participation in the Olympics, they stressed that more support is needed.
The experts also urged international sports organisations to avoid any actions that could be perceived as complicity with the Taliban's discriminatory and unlawful policies.