King Charles welcomed members of the Afghan Refugee Women's cricket team to Clarence House on Wednesday, where he heard firsthand accounts of their terrifying escape from Afghanistan following death threats from the Taliban. The team, which is not recognized in Afghanistan where women's sport is banned, is in the UK for a series of matches.
King Learns of Harrowing Journey
Speaking to the group of 15 players, the King asked: "So you had to escape as soon as you could, did you? In 2021? Was it difficult to get out of Afghanistan? Did you get out via Pakistan? And your families managed to come with you?" Player Firooza Amiri, 21, told Charles: "It has been a very difficult and terrifying journey for all of us. There were a lot of Taliban checkpoints. We thought it’s going to be the last one, we won’t survive any more. But we made it."
Team's Formation and Evacuation
The team was initially formed in 2010 and played several international tournaments despite receiving Taliban threats. When the regime took control in 2021, a list of their names was circulated on a hit list, which included other female sports players. A female volleyball player for Afghanistan's national team was killed by the Taliban, forcing the women into hiding. After being contacted by an Indian journalist, a group of Australian women devised a plan to evacuate the cricket team. Melanie Jones, a former Australian cricketer turned commentator, joined forces with Emma Staples, now the Afghan team's manager, and Catherine Ordway, a sports lawyer.
Ms Jones said: "We ended up getting humanitarian visas with the Australian government and they then expired while some were still in the country. We had the SAS from the Australian Army on the ground, and they helped the players through about 8-11 checkpoints through Pakistan with their families. There were about 134 people who got out. They had a backpack each with their entire lives and had to burn anything that said they played cricket, all their cricket equipment." Most of the women now live in Australia, with one in Canada and one in the UK.
King's Encouragement and Light Moments
Speaking to the group, the King told them: "I am so glad you can pursue what you really want to do" before asking: "Did you manage to play cricket in Afghanistan before you left? You didn’t get too many protests when you played, did you?" While talking about languages, player Ekil Latifi, 21, who fled to the UK at age 17, asked the King for a "posh" word like "lavatory." Charles laughed and replied: "I think I would need advance warning for that." Ms Latifi, placed with a foster family after taking the last evacuation flight, now works as a coach at Lord's cricket ground and said the team's success boosts women left behind under Taliban rule: "We’re not just representing our team, it’s about Afghanistan women back in our country and all the things that they can’t do."
Disappointment Over World Cup Exclusion
Shabnam Ahsan, 18, from Kabul, said it was "so disappointing" that the team cannot compete in the T20 Women’s World Cup hosted by England because they are not recognized by Afghanistan. She added: "When we found out we were meeting the King it meant a lot to us and it means a lot back in Afghanistan where women don’t have the right to go out. We’re here to fight for them." Hearing the team now mostly lives and trains in Australia, the King said: "You’re getting all that high-powered Aussie coaching - no holds barred!"
Gifts and Upcoming Match
The event, organized through the UK Foreign Office, was moved indoors due to a heatwave. Walking outside for a photocall, the King was presented with a shirt signed by the players and a decorated cricket bat. Accepting the gifts, the King laughed and said: "I used to play cricket. Very badly!" The team will play the Cambridge University Cricket Club women’s team on Saturday, prompting the King to quip: "My old university."
