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New Delhi: Khalida Popal, the former Afghan women’s soccer team captain has reached out to her players and advised them to delete their social media handles, photos and erase public identities to keep themselves safe with the country once again going under Taliban rule.
Popal, who is based out of Copenhagen told Reuters in a video interview on Wednesday about how the militant organisation had come down heavily on them in the past, particularly women who were killed, raped and stoned to death on several occasions.
‘Today I’m calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. Even I’m telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform,’ she told Reuters.
‘And that is painful for me, for someone as an activist who stood up and did everything possible to achieve and earn that identity as a women’s national team player.
Afghanistan's former women's soccer captain Khalida Popal told @Reuters she has urged players to delete their social media accounts, erase public identities and burn their kits for safety's sake after the Taliban seized control of the country https://t.co/VqlioYGGt0 pic.twitter.com/MZ0Ziyzna8
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 19, 2021
‘To earn that badge on the chest, to have the right to play and represent our country, how much we were proud,’ added Popal.
‘They are so afraid. They are worried, they are scared, not only the players but also the activists… they have nobody to go to, to seek protection, to ask for help if they are in danger,’ she said about the prevailing situation.
‘They are afraid that any time the door will be knocked. What we are seeing is a country collapsing. All the pride, happiness to be there to empower women and men of the country is like it was just wasted,’ she further went on to add.
