Burka-wearing Northern Irish Women To Protest Ireland Vs Afghanistan Cricket Match

Burka-wearing Northern Irish Women To Protest Ireland Vs Afghanistan Cricket Match At Stormont Over Gender Apartheid
Belfast, Ni.

Burka-wearing Northern Irish women will stage a peaceful protest at the Stormont Cricket Ground tomorrow (Monday 10 August) ahead of the One Day International (ODI) cricket match between Ireland and Afghanistan.

The fixtures are still going ahead despite escalating global controversy, security planning by local authorities, and severe human rights scrutiny over Cricket Ireland’s decision to host the Afghanistan men’s team while the Taliban regime enforces a total ban on women’s sport, education, and public life.

The local activists, holding banners reading "Where is the Afghan Women’s Cricket Team?", "Afghanistan Practises Gender Apartheid", and "International Cricket Caliphate (ICC)", will be joined on the boundary lines by women from Fantastic Lesbians, a UK-wide community for lesbian and bisexual women, alongside members of the advocacy group, LGB Alliance.

Marianne Buchanan Stewart, Spokeswoman for the group, stated:
"We cannot stand by and watch a sporting event that treats the total erasure of women from public life as business as usual. By hosting this series, Cricket Ireland is normalising a regime that has systematically dismantled the fundamental human rights of millions of Afghan women and girls, including their basic right to play sport. We are here today to ensure that the voices of those silenced in Kabul are heard clearly on the boundaries of Stormont. True sportsmanship cannot exist where half of a nation’s population is banned from the pitch."

The demonstration marks the transition of the five-match series to Belfast, following the opening fixtures held at Bready Cricket Club in County Tyrone earlier in the week. The final three matches of the tour are scheduled to take place at the Civil Service Cricket Club (Stormont) on the 10th, 12th, and 15th of August.

Joanne Scannell from LGBA stated: "The International Cricket Council’s own membership rules dictate that all full members must maintain a representative women’s team. Yet, global and local cricket executives continue to turn a blind eye to clear violations for the sake of fixture fulfillment. This protest is a direct message to Cricket Ireland and the ICC: compliance with international human rights standards is not optional. You cannot celebrate equality and inclusion in domestic sport while simultaneously validating a system that enforces gender apartheid on the world stage."

The Afghan Women’s Cricket Team famously fled Taliban rule following the 2021 takeover and currently lives in exile, operating primarily out of Australia, due to the absolute ban on women participating in any athletic disciplines.

The peaceful demonstration will assemble outside the main gates of the Stormont Cricket Ground beginning at 09:30 on Monday morning, ahead of the scheduled 10:45 AM match start time.

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MEDIA CONTACT DETAILS:
* Contact Name: Marianne Buchanan Stewart
* Phone Number: 07432879464
* Email Address: marianneb_s@icloud.com
* Groups/Social Media: @ThefantasticsL, @AllianceLGB

NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Afghanistan Men’s Cricket Team is touring Northern Ireland from 5–15 August 2026 for a 5-match One Day International (ODI) series against Ireland.

2. In August 2021, the Taliban regime prohibited women from playing sports, effectively forcing Afghanistan’s national women's cricket team into exile in Australia.

3. Under the International Cricket Council (ICC) regulations, all Full Members must maintain a competitive women's national team to retain full status.