https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...ource=Twitter&utm_medium#Echobox=1629367314-1
The former captain of the Afghanistan women’s football team has urged players to delete social media, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety’s sake now the country is again under Taliban rule.
Copenhagen-based Khalida Popal said in a video interview on Wednesday that the militants had killed, raped and stoned women in the past and female footballers were scared of what the future may hold.
Popal, a co-founder of the Afghan women’s football league, said she had always used her voice to encourage young women “to stand strong, to be bold, to be visible” but now had a different message.
“Today I’m calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. Even I’m telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform,” she said.
“And that is painful for me, for someone as an activist who stood up and did everything possible to achieve and earn that identity as a women’s national team player.
“To earn that badge on the chest, to have the right to play and represent our country, how much we were proud.”…
The former captain of the Afghanistan women’s football team has urged players to delete social media, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety’s sake now the country is again under Taliban rule.
Copenhagen-based Khalida Popal said in a video interview on Wednesday that the militants had killed, raped and stoned women in the past and female footballers were scared of what the future may hold.
Popal, a co-founder of the Afghan women’s football league, said she had always used her voice to encourage young women “to stand strong, to be bold, to be visible” but now had a different message.
“Today I’m calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. Even I’m telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform,” she said.
“And that is painful for me, for someone as an activist who stood up and did everything possible to achieve and earn that identity as a women’s national team player.
“To earn that badge on the chest, to have the right to play and represent our country, how much we were proud.”…
