By: Sara
Female athletes in western Herat province say most of female sports clubs have been closed since the Taliban’s return to power.
They say the Taliban have warned women are not allowed to take part in sports activities. Most women have quit sports out of fear, and some who still exercise and participate in trainings are doing it secretly.
Around 50 female clubs operated in Herat. Women played basketball, volleyball, football, handball, taekwondo, fitness, and badminton. But 90 percent of those clubs have been closed after the Taliban came to power, according to a report by DW, a German broadcaster.
Female athletes and coaches claim have they have received threat letters from the Taliban. The Taliban have torn portraits of female athletes from sports clubs in Herat.
“The Taliban do not even accept the presence of women in society, let alone playing sports and participating in competitions,” said Nazanin Amiri, a female Taekwondo player. “I stood against the social norms that prevented girls from sports.”
She said she started playing Taekwondo seven years ago, standing up against social norms and hoping to become a member of national team. She trained girls for three years and was planning to open her own club. But the Taliban’s return to power dashed that dream.
The Taliban entered the club, in which she trained other girls, torn the banners of the female athletes into pieces. She said her family asked her to stop going to the club after the incident, but she restarted training after a few weeks. Now she goes to the club every day but training secretly in fear.
Life wasn’t easy for sportswomen even before the Taliban. Afghan society’s conservative norms were against female athletes. But the Taliban have made everything for women athletes even more difficult.
Fatima Rezae, a 20-year-old Taekwondo student, said she was about to compete in a national tournament to qualify for international games. But it never happened.
“All of a sudden, with the arrival of the Taliban, everything was destroyed. I was banned from competitions,” she said.
Rezae said she began playing Taekwondo nine years ago, despite her family’s opposition.
She said she stopped training for a while after the Taliban took power. But she decided to go to the club secretly.
The Taliban have said women are not allowed to play sports. Ahmadullah Wasiq, Taliban’s deputy head of cultural affairs, told SBS Australia in September that women would be banned from sports under the Taliban.
“It is the media era, and there will be photos and videos, and then people watch it. Islam and the Islamic Emirate do not allow women to play cricket or play the kind of sports where they get exposed,” he was quoted.
Wahida Karimi, a female Taekwondo coach, said the Taliban stormed her club, tore the banners, and asked for her home address. She didn’t go to the club anymore. Now she trains her students in basement of the one of the students. She said she used to train 50 girls, but now only 10 are attend the training in the basement.
Most families prevent their female members to train and exercise because they fear the Taliban may harm them, sportswomen say.
Some women exercise for their mental health and to fight depression.
“The exercise keeps me happy and healthy,” Golsum Mirzaei, 40, said.
She is now secretly going to the club despite the Taliban threats.
Fereshta Moradi, 35, another female coach in Herat, claims the Taliban threatened her in a letter that women are not allowed to take part in sports activities, “otherwise, whatever happens, you are responsible.”
Names are not real due to safety reasons.
