Jordan English news | Jordan, Latest News & Live Updates in English | English News (Latest English News) at Lokmattimes.com

Women athletes in Afghanistan, whose dreams of playing sports at international levels has come to an end, say the political change in the country has left them with just one thing to survive: hope.After returning back to power in mid-August, reports coming out of the ground confirmed that the Taliban rolled back the women's rights gained in the past 20 years. The outfit reportedly imposed several restrictions on women, including a ban on women's sports."It was very painful," said 21-year-old Homaira Barakzai, the captain of the national handball team, who was not able to represent Afghanistan in the Asian Women's Handball Championship. The games were held last month in Amman, Jordan."Everything has changed with the political change (Taliban's return). Our only hope right now is to survive. Our future, as athletes, is unknown," Barakzai was quoted as saying by American broadcaster Voice of America (VOA).Earlier this month, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the Taliban's old approach to the rights of women and girls was largely unchanged. The rights group said that the outfit fired women journalists from state media and warned women to stay at home away from work for their own safety."Then they just fired women from most government jobs. They issued tough - and, for many universities, impossible - new guidelines on how women could attend a university, requiring strict gender segregation."According to the HRW, the Taliban banned women's sports, dismantled the system to protect women from violence, abolished the Ministry of Women's Affairs.Mashhed Barez, a member of Afghanistan's national handball team, said that the Taliban ban on women's sports is "very disappointing." Barez said the Taliban have not changed from what she heard about the group's rule in the late 1990s."If someone thinks that the Taliban have changed, they are mistaken. The Taliban want people to live in poverty and misery," Barez told VOA.Last month, the Taliban had barred female employees from entering the Ministry of Women Affairs in Kabul, allowing only males into the building.Experts believe that these recent developments are similar to the ultraconservative Islamic regime that saw regular stoning, amputations and public executions during Taliban rule before the US-led invasion that followed the September 11, 2001, terror attacks.( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

JordanFOLLOW

Jordan, Latest News

Amman, Nov 5 Jordan has received the second batch of Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine donated by the Chinese government. ... ...

Sharjah, Nov 1 England's bowling attack continued its impressive show as they defeated Sri Lanka by 26 runs ... ...

Amman, Nov 1 Jordan has decided to ease entry of nationals of several countries in order to support ... ...

England pacer Chris Jordan said that one is never comfortable while playing international cricket as there is no scope of making a mistake. ...

England captain Eoin Morgan said that the team has adapted to the conditions accordingly in UAE after they thumped arch-rivals Australia by eight wickets in their Super 12 game at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup on Saturday. ...

Dubai, Oct 30 A sensational bowling performance by Chris Jordan (3/17), Chris Woakes (2/23), and Tymal Mills (2/45) ... ...

Jordan on Sunday warned Israel against building new settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. ...

Women athletes in Afghanistan, whose dreams of playing sports at international levels has come to an end, say the political change in the country has left them with just one thing to survive: hope. ...