The NY Times ran a great article yesterday about women’s soccer in Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, being allowed to play soccer (football) is a victory in of itself. During the Taliban era, regulations on women’s’ rights became more and more strict, especially rights for sports. But finally, the women’s team got together and conjured a playing space – NATO’s helipad. Anywhere else in the country, they would be attacked and ridiculed for playing. It’s difficult to find a place to practice on Afghan land, “where the most modest display of the body is treated as a social crime.”
The team is the face of the fight for women’s liberation in Afghanistan. They are fighting not only to play soccer, but to work, study, and be a little closer to equal – something completely unheard of over there.
The team is traveling to Bangladesh for their first international tournament, where they will have to overcome several handicaps. Besides their practice space doubling as a helicopter landing pad and only being allowed to use it three times a week, their captain is only 16 years old, which is obviously very young for an internationally competing team. Their uniforms aren’t really uniforms – just a bunch of assorted (sort of) soccer gear. They do not wear shorts or short sleeves, but most of them don’t wear headscarves during play because it’s too dangerous.
In their recent exhibition games, they have been victorious. Let’s hope their winning spills over not only onto the tournament, but also the rest of the Afghan population.
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