Afghanistan.– Noura’s determination to play sports was so great that she defied her family’s opposition for years. Beatings from her mother and taunts from her neighbors never stopped her from playing the sports she loved.
But the 20-year-old Afghan was unable to challenge the country’s Taliban rulers. Not only have they banned all sports for women and girls, but they have actively intimidated and harassed those who have ever played, often even scaring them away from practicing in private, Noura and other women said.
A number of girls and women who once played a variety of sports told The Associated Press they have been intimidated by the Taliban with visits and calls warning them not to participate in sports. The women and girls spoke on condition of anonymity for fear they would face further threats.
They posed for an Associated Press photographer for portraits with the sports team they love. They hid their identities with the burkas, leaving only a mesh over their eyes so they could see. They didn’t normally wear burkas, but say they now sometimes do when they go out and want to remain anonymous and avoid harassment.
Since taking over Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have banned girls from attending middle and high school. Last month, they ordered all women to be expelled from universities as well.
The Taliban ask women to cover their hair and faces in public and forbid them from going to parks or gyms. They have severely limited women’s ability to work outside the home and recently barred non-governmental organizations from hiring them, a move that could cripple the vital flow of aid.
Even before the Taliban, many in deeply conservative Afghan society opposed women’s sports, which they saw as a violation of women’s modesty and role in society. Still, the internationally backed previous government had programs promoting women’s sports and school clubs, leagues and national teams for women in many sports.
A 20-year-old mixed martial artist recalled how in August 2021 she was competing in a local women’s tournament at a Kabul sports hall. Word then spread among the audience and participants that the Taliban outpost was on the outskirts of the city. All the women and girls fled the sports center. It was the last competition in which Sarina played.
Months later, he said he tried to tutor girls. But Taliban fighters raided the gym where they practiced and arrested everyone. In detention, the girls were humiliated and teased, Sarina added. After mediation by the elders, they were released after promising not to practice any more sports.
Sarina still practices at home and sometimes teaches close friends.
Mushwanay, a spokesman for the Taliban Sports Organization and National Olympic Committee, said authorities were looking for a way to restart sports for women by building separate sports facilities. But he did not give a time frame and said funds were needed to do it. Taliban authorities have repeatedly made similar promises to allow girls in grades 7 and up to return to school, but have so far failed to do so.
Noura faced resistance her entire life while trying to play sports.
Raised in a poor district of Kabul by parents who migrated from the provinces, Noura started out playing football alongside local children on the street. When she was nine years old, a coach saw her and, encouraged by him, she joined a girls’ youth team.
She kept it a secret from everyone except her father, but her own talent exposed her. At 13, she was named the best soccer player in her age group, and her photo and name were broadcast on television.
Furious, her mother hit her, yelling that she was not allowed to play soccer. She continued to play in secret, but she was exposed again when her team won a national championship, and her photo was on the news. Her mother hit her again.
Still, he slipped away for the award ceremony. She broke down in tears on stage as the audience applauded.
When she found out, her mother burned her uniform and soccer shoes.
Noura gave up soccer, but later dedicated himself to boxing. His mother finally relented, realizing that she couldn’t stop him from playing sports.
The day the Taliban entered Kabul, her coach called her mother and told her that Noura needed to be taken to the airport to be taken out of the country. Noura said her mother never gave her message because she didn’t want her to leave her. When she found out about her message – already too late to escape from her – she Noura cut her wrists and was taken to a hospital.
Three months later, someone identifying himself as a member of the Taliban called her family and threatened Noura.
Terrified, she left Kabul, disguising herself in her burqa to travel to her family’s hometown. She eventually came back but remains afraid.
