Sir, – I am an Afghan journalist who was raised in Afghanistan and moved to Ireland in January 2024. Alongside my wife, Salma Niazi, I cofounded The Afghan Times, a media platform that gives a voice to Afghan women, children and the younger generation.
I am writing in response to Fintan O’Toole’s recent article about Cricket Ireland hosting the Afghanistan men’s cricket team (“Irish Government remains silent on a shameful game – and it’s not against Israel”, August 18th).
I understand and share the concern about the Taliban’s treatment of Afghan women and girls. However, I believe there is an important misunderstanding about the Afghan men’s cricket team.
The team does not represent the Taliban. The players are Afghan sportsmen, not Taliban representatives. They represent Afghanistan and continue to play under the Afghan national flag and national anthem – symbols that have been restricted by the Taliban inside Afghanistan.
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The history of Afghan cricket is also important. The foundations of the national team were laid among Afghan refugees in Pakistan in the 1990s, during the first Taliban regime. Many early players were young refugees who had fled Afghanistan with their families. Their success later inspired a new generation of young Afghans inside Afghanistan to take up cricket.
At The Afghan Times, we regularly report on the rights and struggles of Afghan women and children. But we also believe it is important not to portray Afghan cricketers as responsible for the Taliban’s policies. They are athletes, not representatives of the Taliban, and cricket can inspire Afghanistan’s younger generation and give them something positive to look towards.
I recently attended the Afghanistan-Ireland matches at Stormont in Belfast with my wife and our young son. We saw many Afghan families proudly supporting their team. I also saw a particularly powerful moment: Rashid Khan, one of the world’s most famous cricketers, was at the ground with his wife and newborn son.
For me, that moment told a much bigger story. Afghan cricketers are not separate from Afghan women and families; they are part of those families themselves. At a time when women’s lives are being severely restricted inside Afghanistan, seeing an Afghan national team player publicly attending a match with his wife and newborn child was a powerful reminder that Afghan society is much more diverse than the Taliban’s policies suggest.
My wife, our son and I were there as a family too. Our son was wearing an Ireland jersey, surrounded by Afghan families supporting their national team. For these families, the matches were not about supporting the Taliban. They were about supporting Afghanistan, bringing families together and giving children something to celebrate.
We can strongly condemn the Taliban’s treatment of women while recognising that Afghan athletes are not the Taliban. Cricket remains one of the few sources of happiness, pride and hope for millions of Afghans. For many young people, sport offers a positive alternative to extremism and something to aspire to.
Ireland can stand with Afghan women while also allowing Afghan athletes to play. These positions are not contradictory.
For many Afghans, the cricket team represents not the Taliban, but Afghanistan itself – its people, resilience and hope for a better future. – Yours, etc,
SAEEDULLAH SAFI,
Blackrock,
Dublin.
