England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Richard Gould has written to his counterpart at the International Cricket Council (ICC) urging the sport's global governing body to consider taking action against the Afghanistan Cricket Board over the Taliban government's treatment of women.
Earlier this week, a group of more than 160 politicians, including Nigel Farage, Jeremy Corbyn and Lord Kinnock, signed a letter encouraging England to boycott next month's Champions Trophy match against Afghanistan and take a stand against the Taliban regime's attacks on women's rights.
Meanwhile, British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called on the ICC to “submit its rules” and Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said the game “should go ahead” to avoid punishing England, but suggested British dignitaries should to decline the event.
“What is happening in Afghanistan is the worst violation of women's rights anywhere in the world,” Gould wrote.
“The ECB has maintained its position not to schedule any bilateral cricket matches against Afghanistan. We had hoped that when we expressed this concern for two years, it would stimulate the debate to further action, but unfortunately, this was not seen.
“While many of our domestic stakeholders continue to call for a boycott of our Champions Trophy match, a coordinated approach led by the ICC would be far more effective than unilateral actions by individual members.
“We want to work with you and other members to find solutions that provide hope that the rights of women and girls in Afghanistan can be restored.”
The Afghanistan women's cricket team fled the country in August 2021 and most of them currently live in Australia
Gould also called on the ICC to urgently consider “imposing an immediate condition on the membership status of the Afghanistan Cricket Board to deliver women's cricket by a specified deadline” and to limit a “significant part” of ACB funding until the women's game returns.
Women's participation in the sport has been effectively banned since the Taliban's return to power in 2021, a move which the ACB is in direct breach of cricket's governing body's rules.
The women's cricket team fled the country seeking refuge in Pakistan before being granted emergency visas to Australia, where most of them currently live.
Under Taliban rule, payments to the women's side were stopped and the team received no communication from cricket chiefs despite repeated attempts to make contact.
The Taliban raided the homes of Afghan female athletes, and some of them were forced to burn their jerseys
Gould also called on the ICC to support the exiled women's team “through funding and advocacy to enable them to compete as a refugee team from Afghanistan”, a model adopted by the International Olympic Committee for the 2024 Paris Games.
In 2021, the ICC established a Task Force on Afghanistan to help influence change and monitor the situation in the country.
However, the entire board was all-male and after the 2023 meeting, cricket chiefs significantly increased Afghanistan's budget without giving an update on the women's team.
Another condition Gould outlined in his letter was: “Reform the existing Afghanistan Task Force to oversee and monitor this work, providing regular and objective assessment of the Afghanistan Cricket Board's progress.
“This group could seek expert opinions on this topic, in order to train and empower leaders to make informed and supported decisions.”
“If we don't take the actions that are in our power to take – even though we acknowledge that much is beyond our control – we are all complicit in missing out on the privilege that comes with holding a global leadership position in our sport.”