Afghan female football captain begs FIFA to save teammates on Taliban ‘hit list’ fearing they could be executed any day
THE CAPTAIN of Afghanistan’s female football team has begged FIFA to save her teammates from the Taliban as women face a new horror reality under the ruthless rule of the jihadi group.
Shabnam Mobarez, who is currently living in the United States, took to Twitter to ask the football governing body to intervene to protect her “sisters”.
Sharing a conversation that her teammate had with her, the 25-year-old wrote: “‘Are you okay’ My teammate in Afghanistan ‘No I am not – I know they will come for me soon, can you help me?’”
“@FIFAcom how should I answer the question? We must act to save my teammates. They are my sisters?”
The Afghanistan women’s football team was formed in 2007 after the Taliban was ousted from power in 2001.
Read our Afghanistan live blog for the latest updates
Yesterday Afghanistan’s ex-football captain urged players to wipe their social media presence and to burn their kits.
“Today I’m calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety,” Khalida Popal said.
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“Even I’m telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform.”
Popal confirmed that a number of women players and coaches were “on the run”.
“Their identities have been exposed,” Popal told Sportico. “They are a target group for the terrorists.”
Afghanistan’s biggest female pop star fled Kabul earlier this week over growing fears of the woman-hating Taliban death squads.
Aryana Sayeed, 36, who lives in Turkey, reassured her Instagram followers of her safety after escaping the country on Wednesday.
Ms Sayeed has been a vocal supporter of women’s rights – rights which are in jeopardy now that the Taliban have taken control of the country.
The last time the Taliban were in charge of Afghanistan women were severely suppressed.
From 1996 to 2001, women were not allowed to work and were banned from going to school
Women were only allowed to appear in public wearing if they wore a burqa and when accompanied by a male blood relative.
RUTHLESS RULE
Meanwhile, Taliban thugs reportedly gunned down a woman in the street for not wearing a burqa.
According to Fox News, the woman was executed in Taloqan, the capital of Takhar province, for not wearing an Islamic veil in public as Afghans face a new horror reality under the ruthless rule of the terror group.
A photo of the alleged killing published by Fox News on Wednesday shows a woman lying in a pool of blood as relatives and members of the public crouch around her.
It’s not clear when the woman was killed.
On Thursday, desperate Afghan women were filmed begging US troops to save them through the fence at Kabul airport.
Footage shows women reaching their hands through iron railings towards American troops while screaming for help.
In another clip, filmed on the outer perimeter of Kabul Aiport, a baby is seen being handed over to US soldiers in the hope of getting them out of the war-torn country.
The child, reported to be a girl, was picked up by a US soldier who lifted them to safety over the razor-wired security wall at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul yesterday.
Families fought their way through a mass of people to reach the perimeter of Kabul airport.