As Taliban Seeks Reprisals On Empowered Women In Sports, Afghan Girls Soccer Team, Families Fear For Their Lives

An ongoing international effort to rescue the members of the Afghanistan national girls soccer team out of Kabul suffered a crushing blow following last week's suicide bombing at the city's international airport, which killed 169 Afghans and thirteen U.S. service members.

The female athletes left behind, aged 14 to 16, along with their family and soccer federation staff, fear they could be attacked by the Taliban at any moment as the Islamic law prohibits women and girls to have the freedom to play sports, the Associated Press reported.

The team had also empowered the girls, urging them to become active members of their communities, according to Farkhunda Muhtaj, the captain of the Afghanistan women’s national team who now lives in Canada.

“They are devastated. They’re hopeless, considering the situation they’re in,” Muhtaj said.

Most members of the Afghan women’s team, which was founded in 2007, were safely flown to Australia last week. However, some of their youngest members remain stranded and vulnerable in Afghanistan.

The players were advised earlier this month to expunge social media posts linked to the team to avoid reprisals since the United States-backed Afghanistan government fell to Taliban rule.

The global soccer players’ union, FIFPRO, has since expressed their gratitude to the Australian government for making the evacuation possible as works continue to evacuate more members from Afghanistan.

“They’re just unbelievable young ladies who should be playing in the backyard, playing on the swing set, playing with their friends, and here they’re in a very bad situation for doing nothing more than playing soccer,” said Robert McCreary, who used to work with special forces in Afghanistan as a former congressional chief of staff and White House official.

“We need to do everything that we can to protect them, to get them to a safe situation,” he added.

At least five failed attempts to rescue the group of 133 people, including 26 youth team members, adults, other children, and infants, have been carried out in recent days. However, many are not properly documented to be able to board flights from Kabul.

McCreary said the mission, tagged as "Operation Soccer Balls," is coordinating with other countries such as Australia, France, and Qatar to secure the girls out of Kabul and help them settle in the U.S. He also urged the Taliban to ease the exit for the group on goodwill, NBC News noted.

Since the Taliban returned to power this year, its officials have been working to present a new image of the Islamic extremist group, promising amnesty to former opponents and an inclusive government.

However, many Afghans remain skeptical about those promises, fearing the Taliban may quickly rubbish their words and instead resort to the brutal tactics of their 1996 to 2001 rule, which barred Afghan girls and women from attending schools and securing job opportunities.