Women risk Taliban ire to play the sports they love

Afghanistan’s rulers are enforcing a ban on women playing sport by intimidating them with visits and phone calls.

The Associated Press

Jan 17, 2023 – 5.40am

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Noura’s determination to play sports was so great that she defied her family’s opposition for years. Beatings from her mother and jeers from her neighbours never stopped her from the sports she loved.

But the 20-year-old Afghan woman could not defy her country’s Taliban rulers. They have not just banned all sports for women and girls, but they have also actively intimidated and harassed those who once played, often scaring them from even practising in private, Noura and other women say.