Former Afghan women captain tells footballers to burn sets, remove photos Afghanistan

The former captain of the Afghan women’s national football team has urged players to remove social media, remove public identities and burn sets for safety now the country is back Under Taliban rule.

In Copenhagen Khalida popal said in a video interview on Wednesday that militants had killed, raped and stoned women in the past and women ‘s football feared what the future would bring when it came.

Popal, the founder of the Afghan Women’s Football League, said she had always used her voice to encourage young women to stay strong, to be bold, visible, but now she had a different message.

Today I call them and tell them, delete their names, delete their identities, delete their photos for security. Even I tell them to burn or resign from the national team uniform, he said.

And it’s painful for me, some activist, who stood up and did his best to achieve and earn this identity as a player on the women’s national team.

We were proud to earn the badge on its chest, to have the right to play and represent our country.

During 1996-2001 during the rule of Islam The Taliban prevented women from working. The girls were not allowed to go to school, and the women had to wear burqas to go out, and then only in the company of a male relative. Violators of the rules sometimes suffer humiliation and public beatings by the Taliban’s religious police.

The Taliban has said it respects women’s rights under Islamic law.

Popal said football has allowed women to take a strong stand on their rights and defy those who want to silence them. They are so scared. They are worried, they are scared, not only the players but also the activists … they have no one from whom they could seek protection, ask for help if they are in danger, he said of the situation.

They fear that at any time the door will be knocked.

We see the country collapse, he added. All the pride and happiness of being on the ground in empowering women and men is as if it were just wasted.

A Fifa spokesman said the World Football Association shared its concerns and compassion for all those affected by the changing situation.

We will be in touch Afghanistan the Football Association and other stakeholders, and will continue to monitor the local situation and provide our support in the coming weeks and months.