Australia withdraw from ODI series against Afghanistan after Taliban crackdown against women

 

Australia’s men’s team has withdrawn from their one-day international (ODI) series against Afghanistan due to be played in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in March this year.

The decision was taken against the increased restrictions recently imposed on women’s and girls’ rights by the Taliban, Cricket Australia (CA) said.

Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration imposed a ban on women attending universities in December 2022, while girls have been banned from high school since March.They have also been excluded from parks and gyms, foreign media reported.

Australia and Afghanistan were scheduled to play three ODIs in the United Arab Emirates but CA scrapped the series after “extensive consultation” with stakeholders, including the Australian government.