Australia has withdrawn from one-day internationals against Afghanistan because of the Taliban’s restrictions on women

On Thursday, Australia cited attempts by the Taliban to further restrict women’s rights as the reason for withdrawing from a planned one-day series against Afghanistan that was scheduled to take place in the United Arab Emirates.

After returning from a trip to India, the men’s squad was scheduled to play their counterparts from Afghanistan in a total of three matches in the month of March.

Cricket Australia, however, announced that the series will not go ahead after discussions with many concerned parties, one of which was the Australian government.

“This decision follows the recent announcement by the Taliban of further restrictions on women’s and girls’ education and employment opportunities as well as their ability to access parks and gyms,” it said in a statement. “This decision follows the recent announcement by the Taliban of further restrictions on women’s and girls’ education and employment opportunities.”

“CA is dedicated to supporting the expansion of the game for both women and men around the world, especially in Afghanistan.

According to what was stated in the statement, “(we) will continue to interact with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in anticipation of improving conditions for women and girls in the country.”

The ICC Super League included the games that were played against Afghanistan.

Because of this, Australia will be docked 30 competition points for the series, which count toward qualification for the World Cup.

They have, however, already ensured that they would receive automatic qualification for the 50-over competition that will take place in India later on this year.

At least one active player from Afghanistan has voiced their disapproval of the Australian move.

As a form of retaliation, the fast bowler Naveen-ul-Haq suggested on Twitter that he would withdraw from the Big Bash League in Australia, which is the competition in which he participates for the Sydney Sixers.

According to a tweet he sent out, “when a country is going through so much in place of being supportive you want to take the sole reason of happiness from them.”

In August of 2021, the Taliban were able to retake control of the South Asian nation, and almost immediately afterward, they began establishing limits on the ability of women to participate in sports.

The unyielding stance In the beginning, Islamists pledged to take a more moderate approach than they did during their previous run at office from 1996-2001, which was a period renowned for human rights violations including public executions and floggings.

They have progressively restored a severe interpretation of Islamic law, sometimes known as sharia, and as a result, hard-won rights for women have been eroded as they are excluded from public life.

In the past month, the Taliban have forbidden women from attending universities, which has resulted in indignation all around the world as well as demonstrations in several towns throughout Afghanistan.

Then, at the end of the previous month, they issued a decree that Afghan women could no longer work for NGOs. This came at a time when Afghanistan is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with 38 million people in the country going hungry and three million children at risk of malnutrition.

The vast majority of female government employees had already been laid off. A burqa or a hijab was required of women whenever they were outside the home, and they were not allowed to travel without a male relative. In addition, women were not allowed to travel alone.

In November, women were not allowed to enter parks, funfairs, gyms, or public baths. This restriction took effect on November 1.