Women’s rights activists are calling on England to concede the cricket championship match to Afghanistan

Men’s England cricket team is set to face Afghanistan on February 26 in the group stage of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy.

However, women’s rights campaigners called on England to pull out of the match in protest at ongoing human rights abuses in Afghanistan. The Women’s Rights Network (WRN) released statement on Monday, calling not only for the February championship match to be abandoned, but also for any sporting event against the Afghanistan national team.

“The Women’s Rights Network is calling on England to withdraw from the match. In fact, we call on our politicians and sports governing bodies to go further. We call on: (UK Prime Minister) Keir Starmer to order a boycott of all Afghanistan matches in any sport. , (England Cricket Team) lose all matches against Afghanistan Men’s Cricket Team in any tournament, players and coaches will test their conscience – women in your families are free to dress as they please, get an education, work, travel, have bank accounts , speak and sing with all conscience in a country that denies women their basic human rights?” – wrote the group.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS ON FOXNEWS.COM

“Pride in a team jersey includes pride in your country standing up for human rights and fighting dictators who bask in the glory of sporting success. What is happening to the women of Afghanistan is terrible. Any honest sportsman must do what is right. : Boycott of Afghanistan”.

Afghanistan has been under Taliban control since August 2021 after President Biden ordered the withdrawal of US troops. The withdrawal led to the death of 13 American armed forces and the almost immediate capture of the country’s capital, Kabul, by Taliban forces. Another 45 American soldiers were injured and more than 170 Afghan civilians were killed.

GOLD STAR FATHER SAYS BIDEN HARRIS ‘REFUSED’ SON AT CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT TO HONOR DYING AFGHANISTAN SOLDIERS

After the capture of Kabul by the Taliban on August 15, 2021. the country’s economy, according to UNDP, has “largely collapsed”, largely because international funding through government donor schemes such as the Afghanistan Reconstruction Trust Fund has been halted.

The Taliban takeover led to particularly appalling treatment of women in the country.

Under Sharia law, women are prohibited from moving about in public unless they are in the company of a male relative. In general, they are only allowed to leave the house for urgent business and must wear a full veil when they do.

In August Taliban leaders in accordance with the new laws approved by the Supreme Leader to combat vice and promote virtue, a ban was issued on women’s public voices and open faces.

Women are required to cover themselves in front of non-Muslim men and women to avoid depravity. A woman’s voice is considered intimate, so it cannot be heard while singing, reciting or reading aloud in public. Women are forbidden to look at men with whom they are not related by blood or marriage, and vice versa.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS PROGRAM

Women in Afghanistan are also prohibited from attending secondary school, and from 2022 they are prohibited from studying at all. There are some courses available to women through online teaching, but female students are not allowed to take the exams.

In July a UN report said the ministry is fostering an atmosphere of fear and intimidation among Afghans through its decrees and the methods used to enforce them.

“Given the many issues outlined in the report, the position taken by the de facto authorities that this surveillance will increase and expand is cause for serious concern for all Afghans, particularly women and girls,” said Fiona Fraser, head of the on human issues. human rights services at the UN mission in Afghanistan.

The Taliban rejected the UN report.

Follow Fox News Digital sports lighting on Xand subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.