Cricket South Africa (CSA) has confirmed that it will continue to engage in bilateral fixtures with Afghanistan, stating it does not believe in penalizing the men’s team for the Taliban’s actions in their home country.
This decision followed criticism from the activist organization Lawyers for Human Rights, which argued that South Africa’s participation in a brief white-ball series with Afghanistan amounted to tacit support for a repressive regime.
Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in September 2021, restrictions on female participation in sports have been enforced, a situation that has drawn serious concern from the South African government, although it has not called for outright sanctions. CSA has taken a similar approach.
In a statement released on Thursday, CSA asserted that while it believes “women’s cricket deserves equal recognition and success,” it will not isolate the Afghanistan men’s team based solely on its government’s policies.
“CSA remains mindful that gender equity should never come at the expense of one gender over another. We recognise that advocating for the advancement of one gender should not undermine the rights of the other. CSA believes there is no justification for subjecting Afghan cricket players – both male and female – to secondary persecution for the actions of the Taliban. We will continue to engage with member countries within the formal structures of the International Cricket Council (ICC) to address this matter,” the statement read.
“Gender advocacy in cricket should never be advanced by meting out punishment on innocent cricket administrators and players for the misdemeanours of a regime that stands to lose nothing from that punishment,” it added.
This stance provides relief for Afghanistan’s men’s team, especially after Cricket Australia opted not to play them in bilateral matches due to human rights abuses, refusing to engage on three occasions over the past year.
Currently, South Africa and Afghanistan are competing in a three-match ODI series in the UAE. South African skipper Temba Bavuma missed the first match, which South Africa lost by six wickets, due to illness. The second and third ODIs are scheduled for Friday and Sunday.
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