Human Rights Watch has called on the International Cricket Council (ICC) to prevent the Afghanistan national cricket team from participating in international games and to suspend the membership of the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB).
In a statement, the organisation emphasised that the Afghanistan national cricket team should remain sanctioned until women are allowed to access education and participate in sports. The organisation noted that the Afghanistan Cricket Board is under the control of the Taliban.
According to the BBC, Heather Barr, the head of the women's section of Human Rights Watch, said that according to the International Cricket Council's anti-discrimination policy, all people should be able to play cricket without discrimination and regardless of their gender, but the Taliban government has deprived Afghan women of this right.
In a statement issued by Human Rights Watch, it referred to various decrees of the Taliban government that include various women's rights, including "work, education, and sports," which the Taliban has deprived of women.
Countries that are members of the International Cricket Council (ICC), of which Afghanistan is one of them, are also required to have a women's cricket team, but even though Afghan women do not have the right to play sports and cricket, Afghanistan retains its membership in the ICC and participates in international competitions.
