Saqib Bhatti does not believe England should be playing Afghanistan (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Prior to being an MP, when I was president of the Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, I remember meeting representatives of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) to talk about how cricket can appeal to different communities.
I told them I am a big believer that women’s cricket is a great opportunity to empower women and young girls, especially in ethnic minority communities.
That’s why I have joined a group of cross-party parliamentarians, led by the indomitable Tonia Antoniazzi, to urge the ECB show real leadership boycott the upcoming England men’s game against Afghanistan.
As a proud Brit, when I look across the world, I know that we are an incredibly tolerant society.
Young women can dream of becoming prime minister (we’ve had three women do the job so far) or might one day pick up a cricket bat and dream of representing their country on the international stage.
Unfortunately, in Afghanistan, that’s not the case. Women and girls are being deprived of their voice, dreams and aspirations by the brutal and regressive Taliban regime.
Afghanistan has one of the most repugnant women’s rights records in the world. Since the Taliban regained control of the country in 2021, women’s rights have been undermined and systematically eroded.
Young girls are prevented from going to school, women are not allowed out the house without a male chaperone and they have been barred from engaging in politics and debate.
Given that the UK has been so heavily involved in Afghanistan, a country where hundreds of British service personnel gave up their lives, improving the harrowing fate of women and girls in the country is a stand we, as a country, must take.
That’s why I have joined a group of cross-party parliamentarians, to urge the ECB to show real leadership and boycott the match until women’s rights in Afghanistan improve significantly.
Our cricket team, who tour the world and show off the very best of Britain, should not be playing against a country that forbids women the very basic right of playing sport.
If this game goes ahead, it would send a terrible message to millions of women across Afghanistan, and around the world, that Britain does not care about their struggles.
The ECB must call stumps on this game and make very clear that England won’t play any cricket against Afghanistan until the Taliban’s abhorrent treatment of women ends.
Saqib Bhatti is the shadow culture media and sport minister