Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Remember the stories about Afghanistan’s Taliban regarding women? Remember how it was reported that a woman could be executed due to showing too much ankle or even for having squeaky shoes? Well those days are definitely over.

Even before they step onto the pitch at the Banuwan women's competition in Iran in August, the women of Kabul Selected will have overcome more obstacles than most athletes.

The team has been playing in organised [soccer] leagues for a little more than a year. When they began, most training took place behind closed doors. While they still lack the amenities available to male players, the best players from the capital's 12 girls' teams have moved into the open.

Ranging in age from 12 to 18, they train on the concrete apron next to the grass field at Kabul Athletic Stadium, where the Taleban once conducted public executions. The grass is usually reserved for male teams, so the women make do with a practice area smaller than a regulation pitch. [SNIP]

[T]here are the neighbourhood gossips who can't accept the idea of female athletes.

"The neighbours haven't said anything to me directly, but my father was asked, 'Why is your daughter playing football?' " said Shamila.

"'I myself told her to play football,' my father told him, Shamila continued with a trace of pride in her voice.

Pretty cool, eh? There’s a lot more in the latest post from Arthur Chrenkoff’s series “Good News from Afghanistan,” and don't forget to read other his on-going series "Good News From Iraq" (twenty-six parts so far). Call him the anti-Herbert.