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Human Rights Watch has reportedly urged the ICC to suspend Afghanistan's membership and bar the Taliban-led nation from international cricket. The request, sent via email to ICC chair Jay Shah on February 3, was made public on March 7. (More Cricket News)

According to ESPN's report, the email carried the subject line: "Suspending the Afghanistan Cricket Board and Implementing a Human Rights Policy."

The international NGO sent a letter to the governing body on March 7, urging Afghanistan's suspension from cricket over the rollback of women's rights under Taliban rule.

Human Rights Watch defines itself as an independent international NGO that researches and advocates against human rights abuses by both states and non-state actors worldwide.

The email urged the ICC to suspend Taliban-led Afghanistan from membership and international cricket until women and girls regain access to education and sport in the country.

The email also called on the ICC to adopt a human rights policy aligned with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It highlighted the ICC's commitment to increasing resources for women's cricket, citing pledges to prioritize and invest more in the women's game during its leadership tenure.

The email highlighted the ICC’s anti-discrimination policy, which commits to making cricket accessible to all participants, regardless of background. It noted that the policy also seeks to protect players from intimidation based on factors such as sex, gender, marital status, or maternity status.

Additionally, the email pointed out a contradiction in the ICC’s stance, arguing that while payments to Afghanistan’s women’s team were suspended in 2021,66jogo the men’s team continues to receive financial and logistical support, seemingly in violation of the ICC’s own anti-discrimination rules.

Human Rights Watch asserted that the Afghanistan Cricket Board is violating the ICC’s Anti-Discrimination Policy by barring women and girls from playing cricket and preventing a national women's team from competing internationally.

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The organization also pointed out that with cricket set to feature in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the Taliban’s ban on women in the sport directly contradicts the Olympic Charter, which states that "the practice of sport is a human right."

Since the Taliban regained control in 2021alfapg, women have faced increasingly restrictive laws, excluding them from most aspects of public life, including sports. Shortly before the takeover, the Afghanistan Cricket Board had agreed to contract 25 women’s players, most of whom are now in exile in Australia.