Taliban tried to suppress women’s protests in many cities

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For example, a senior Taliban official may have announced the end of women’s cricket. “I don’t think women will be allowed to play cricket because there is no need for women to play cricket,” Ahmadullah Wasik, deputy head of the Taliban’s cultural commission, told Australian broadcaster SBS. Cricket is a popular sport in Afghanistan and the men’s team tours Australia in November.

Wasik’s stringent performance rules and statements are in stark contrast to the image the Taliban have tried to portray since taking power that they have changed since their first term, between 1996 and 2001.

In recent weeks, women and men have been segregated in universities. “In cricket, they can face a situation where their face and body are not covered,” Wasik said. “Islam doesn’t allow women to be seen this way.” The Australian Cricket Federation warned on Thursday that the match against the men’s team will be canceled if women’s cricket is banned.

Attempts to deal with the demonstrations show that the demonstrations by women, mainly in Kabul and Herat, have become a thorn in the side of the Taliban. The new government barely took office this week after the interior ministry warned protesters not to ‘dare to organize demonstrations’.