UK Government pushing for Afghan women’s right to play cricket, Nandy says

Afghan women have the right to play cricket and the UK Government is “bringing all the pressure that we can”, the Culture Secretary said, after England was urged to boycott its upcoming match against Afghanistan.

As the Champions Trophy kicks off, England men’s cricket team has continued to face calls to sit out the match in Lahore on Wednesday, in protest at the assault on women’s rights under the Taliban regime.

All female sport has been effectively outlawed, leaving the majority of Afghanistan’s women’s cricket team living in exile.

Lisa Nandy said a boycott of the upcoming match would be “counterproductive”, after a cross-party group of more than 160 MPs and peers called for it in a letter to the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB).

ECB chief executive Richard Gould has written to the International Cricket Council condemning the “gender apartheid” in Afghanistan, but rejected the idea of a unilateral decision to withdraw from the game and instead called for cohesive action.

During a visit to Stratford-upon-Avon on Thursday, Ms Nandy said it is not the “fault” of athletes, as she supported the decision for the match to go ahead.

She told the PA news agency: ”The Prime Minister made clear, we believe that the rules ought to be upheld and that the Afghan women’s team have the right to play in international tournaments.

“We want the ruling body of international cricket to take that stance.

“We’ve been working closely with the England cricket board in order to make that clear. We think that’s the right approach.

“It’s not the athletes’ fault, it’s not the cricket team’s fault, that this has happened, and we do think that boycotts can be counterproductive.

“But we are absolutely crystal clear that the rules must be upheld, and we’re bringing all the pressure that we can to bear to make sure that that generation of Afghan women can play cricket as they deserve.

“They’ve earned the right to do so, and they ought to be able to do so.”

Pressed on whether the match should continue, she added: “I don’t think we are doing business as usual. I think there’s been very strong statements, there’s been work behind the scenes to try and bring co-ordinated pressure to bear to ensure that the right of Afghan women to play cricket is upheld.

“And there is, of course, a much wider issue about women’s rights in Afghanistan, which the Foreign Secretary has pursued relentlessly since we took office back in July.

“This Government takes the rights of women in Afghanistan incredibly seriously, and we’re doing everything that we can to try and uphold those rights.”

Following a meeting of the ECB board earlier this month, ECB chairman Richard Thompson confirmed the game would be going ahead.

He added: “We have been in close contact with the Government, the International Cricket Council, our England men’s players and other stakeholders to discuss this matter, as well as considering how best the ECB can support those women cricketers who have fled Afghanistan.”

England’s white-ball captain, Jos Buttler, has also said the game should be played, saying “as a player, you don’t want political situations to affect sport”.