Shabnam Mobarez, the captain of the Afghanistan women’s soccer team, has called on FIFA to help “save” her teammates from the Taliban. Earlier this week, the Taliban vowed to respect women’s rights, however, many Afghans remain skeptical of this promise – as can be observed from horror stories of thousands of people’s desperate attempts to flee the country.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s longtime spokesman, promised the fundamentalist group would honor women’s rights within the norms of Islamic law, without elaborating. The Taliban has encouraged women to return to work and has allowed girls to return to school, handing out Islamic headscarves at the door.
The future of Afghan women remains uncertain after the Taliban took control of capital city Kabul earlier this week, with women’s rights severely suppressed when the group last ruled the country between 1996 and 2001.
Previously, Afghan women were not allowed to work, study, or be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone. Individuals who violated the sexist laws were imprisoned, publicly flogged, and even executed.
And with the lives of many of her football team-mates under threat, national team captain Shabnam Mobarez, 25, who is currently residing in the United States, has asked the world football governing body to intervene in the situation in her home country