Taliban regime banned girls from schools beyond age of 12, barred women from most jobs, public services
\n PARIS
\nAfghanistan\u2019s International Olympic Committee member Samira Asghari has told AFP that the Taliban authorities must face the stark truth that if they are ever to be accepted internationally, they must respect the rights of women to education and sport.
\nAsghari, who at 31 is living in exile for the second time, does however, favour engaging with Afghanistan\u2019s rulers.
\nThe Taliban government had banned girls from schools beyond the age of 12, and barred women from most jobs and public services, and from playing sport.
\nAsghari, who in 2018 became Afghanistan\u2019s first ever IOC member, accepts her \u201csituation is quite challenging\u201d and beating the drum for Afghan women\u2019s sport \u201cdoes require certain precautions\u201d.
\nNevertheless, the former international basketball player, like many top Afghan women athletes, is undeterred in speaking out about the treatment of women under the Taliban authorities.
\n\u201cThe reality is that when you take a public stand for women\u2019s rights, you do become a target, but I believe strongly in communication and engagement,\u201d she said in an email interview.
\n\u201cAs long as the Taliban remain the reality on the ground in Afghanistan, we cannot afford to waste time doing nothing.
\n\u201cIn my role, I have tried to help smooth the discussions between the IOC and those currently in control, focusing on the sport rights of women and girls and particularly primary school girls who are still inside Afghanistan.\u201d
\nAsghari, one of four children born to a retired professional make-up artist mother and a father who was a manager in the Afghan Olympic national committee, says the \u201cconversations are not always easy.\u201d
\n\u201cThey are not about legitimising any government,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cBut they are very important for creating tangible opportunities for future generations of young boys and girls in Afghanistan.\u201d
\n\u2018Fundamental change\u2019
\nWith Afghan sportswomen spread around the globe, putting together teams is complex.
\nHowever, a women\u2019s football team, Afghan Women United, made up of players based in Europe and Australia, recently competed in FIFA Unites: Women\u2019s Series 2025 in Morocco.
\n\u201cThis support for athletes outside Afghanistan is just the first step, and I hope FIFA can align with the IOC\u2019s ongoing talks with the Taliban,\u201d she said.
\nAsghari, who had been involved in the \u201cproject\u201d for over a year, hopes the message gets through to Afghanistan\u2019s rulers.
\n\u201cThe Taliban were given the country, and now they\u2019re trying to maintain power while ignoring fundamental human rights, particularly for women,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s very difficult for them to continue ruling Afghanistan this way in the long term, and the Taliban need to understand that their international acceptance is directly linked to respecting human rights, including the rights of women to education and sport.\u201d
\nAsghari, who attended the recent Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, where Afghan women and men competed, said she hoped for \u201csmall openings\u201d in the Taliban\u2019s stance.
\n\u201cI also believe that if we can find small openings \u2014 like developing sport in primary schools where girls are still allowed to attend up to sixth grade \u2014 we should take them,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cThis isn\u2019t about accepting the Taliban\u2019s restrictions; it\u2019s about not abandoning the girls and women of Afghanistan.
\n\u201cWe have to work with reality, while continuing to push for fundamental change.\u201d
\nAsghari says even achieving small breakthroughs like that could prevent the long-term harm women suffered during the Taliban\u2019s first spell in power, from 1996 to 2001.
\nShe said she had seen the impact on her return from her first period of exile in Iran.
\n\u201cWhat concerns me deeply is that we\u2019re creating another lost generation,\u201d she said.
\n\u201cI remember when I was in sixth grade, aged 12, and there was a 20-year-old woman sitting next to me in the same class because she couldn\u2019t go to school during the previous Taliban era.
\n\u201cI didn\u2019t know how to communicate with her, and it was difficult for both of us, but especially for her because she had lost so many years.
\n\u201cI cannot accept seeing this happen again. That\u2019s why even small opportunities matter so much.\u201d
\nAsghari retains hope despite the bleak outlook and believes in \u201ccontinued engagement and dialogue\u201d with the Taliban.
\n\u201cThe future of Afghanistan is this young generation. We need to give them every opportunity we can, no matter how small, and never, ever give up on them.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Taliban regime banned girls from schools beyond age of 12, barred women from most jobs, public services PARIS Afghanistan\u2019s International Olympic Committee member Samira Asghari has told AFP that the Taliban authorities must face the stark truth that if they are ever to be accepted internationally, they must respect the rights of women to education […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519728,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-519714","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n