Women in Afghanistan have been banned from competing in sport since 2021.
Sports minister Gayton McKenzie has voiced his support of a boycott against the Afghanistan cricket team at the Champions Trophy tournament to be played in Pakistan next month.
This follows an outcry from cricket fans, as well as a call from Lawyers for Human Rights, who last year slammed South Africa for playing an ODI series against Afghanistan in the UAE.
Under Taliban rule, women in Afghanistan are expected to cover up completely in public and not raise their voices.
In addition, women in the Middle Eastern country have been banned from competing in sport since 2021, which has eliminated their national women’s team from international competitions.
“It is not for me as the sports minister to make the final decision on whether South Africa should honour cricketing fixtures against Afghanistan. If it was my decision, then it certainly would not happen,” McKenzie said yesterday.
“As a man who comes from a race that was not allowed equal access to sporting opportunities during Apartheid, it would be hypocritical and immoral to look the other way today when the same is being done towards women anywhere in the world.”
Inconsistent approach
McKenzie hit out at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for not showing consistency in the drive for equality in the global game, and for allowing political interference in some countries and not others.
“To be clear, the ICC has accepted the principle of equality in sport, and that member nations should be developing both male and female players,” he said.
“This does not happen in the case of Afghanistan, suggesting that political interference in the administration of sport is being tolerated there. In the same breath, Sri Lanka was banned in 2023 for political interference.
“I am aware that the ICC, like most international sporting mother bodies, professes not to tolerate political interference in the administration of sport, despite its obvious inconsistency with Afghanistan.”
‘Take a firm stand’
McKenzie urged national and international federations to reconsider allowing the Afghanistan men’s team to play as long as the women were banned by their own country.
He also called on fans and players to stand up against the discrimination of women.
“Cricket South Africa, the federations of other countries and the ICC will have to think carefully about the message the sport of cricket wishes to send the world, and especially the women in sports,” McKenzie said.
“I hope that the consciences of all those involved in cricket, including the supporters, players and administrators, will take a firm stand in solidarity with the women of Afghanistan.”
South Africa are one of eight teams which have qualified for the men’s Champions Trophy tournament.
Their first match of the competition is scheduled to be played against Afghanistan in Karachi on 21 February.
