Afghan National Olympic Committee joins HeForShe campaign

Author: Hamayoon Sediqi

Kabul, Afghanistan – The Afghan National Olympic Committee has joined UN Women’s HeForShe campaign, adding an influential voice to efforts to secure women’s rights in the country.

The committee officially signed up at a 25 January ceremony in Kabul organized with the support of UN Women. It was attended by nearly 200 men, women and youths – most of them athletes -- who pledged support for HeForShe.

HeForShe is a global campaign that enlists men and boys to speak out and take action against discrimination against women and girls. The pledge by the Afghan National Olympic Committee was a strong boost to the campaign because the committee and athletes can reach out to, and serve as role models for, the larger society. National Olympic committees like that in Afghanistan are tasked with promoting the principles of the Olympics, developing athletes and sports programmes, and selecting and sending teams to the Olympic Games.

In Afghanistan, public attitudes about women and girls participating in sports have improved in recent years and there are now many gyms, clubs and other places that accommodate them. Many challenges remain, however, including that some families are reluctant to have wives and daughters join sports activities because of fears for their safety.

Mohammad Zarhir Aqhber, Director of the Afghan National Olympic Committee, speaks at the ceremony at which the committee joined the HeForShe campaign. Photo: UN Women Afghanistan.

Mohammad Zarhir Aqhber, Director of Afghan National Olympic Committee, told the audience: “This is a very good opportunity for the National Olympic Committee to support this campaign and to stand for women and girls’ rights everywhere, including at home, in the office, and in public areas and to let the people know that you are not only champions in sports but also you are champions and ambassadors of peace and can stand up for women’s and girls’ rights.”

Elzira Sagynbaeva, Country Representative of UN Women Afghanistan, said: “It is the responsibility of men and youth to create a space for sports which is equally open and accessible, and non-threatening for women to participate. … Athletes are well positioned to say, ‘We stand for creating an equal space for women and girls not because I am weak, but because I am strong.’ This is a space for the people affiliated with sports to actually demonstrate the living example of what true ‘sports-person spirit’ means!”

Elzira Sagynbaeva, Country Representative, UN Women Afghanistan, speaks at the HeForShe event. Photo: UN Women Afghanistan

During the event, male and female sports champions shared their experiences of how people can support women and girls to go out and participate in sports and achieve their dreams.

Malik Khan, 22, a well-known member of the Afghan National Paralympics Running Team who had lost both legs in a landmine explosion, told of how he encouraged disabled women and girls. “When I met people with disabilities, I set myself as an example for them,” he said. “I told them, ‘See, I don’t have two legs but I am still happy and actively taking part in sports and it has helped me to forget my pain. You also can work and exercise.”

He added, however, that both the Afghan government and other countries “have given very little attention to the lives of women and girls with disabilities in Afghanistan”.

Paralympic athlete Malik Khan describes how he encouraged other disabled people to compete in sports. Photo: UN Women Afghanistan

Rohullah Nikpa, a taekwondo champion and Olympic Games bronze medalist, Robina Jalaly, Deputy Director of the Afghan National Olympic Committee and and a former member of the national basketball team, and Suraya, a current member of that team, encouraged men and boys, and especially their fans, to be brave and stand up for the rights of women and girls. The two women spoke of how the male members of their families encouraged them to compete in sports.

“I am very thankful to my husband, who is a big supporter of mine,” said Ms. Jalaly.

During the event, male and female members of the Afghan National Gymnastics Team staged a performance that conveyed the message that both genders can work and exercise together and there was no room for discrimination against women.

Members of the National Gymnastics Team perform at the HeForShe event in Kabul. Photo: UN Women Afghanistan.

At the end of the ceremony, participants signed the HeForShe pledge online.

In Afghanistan, the HeForShe campaign bears the slogan “A Brave Man Stands for Women.” UN Women launched the campaign in Kabul in June 2015 and then in the provinces of Nanagarhar, Bamyan, Kandahar, Herat and Balkh. With the National Olympic Committee now on board, about 1,700 people, mostly men and boys, have participated in these events while others have signed up online.

Ahmad Zia Masood, the President’s Special Envoy for Good Governance, said that campaigns like HeForShe were needed to help uproot customs in Afghanistan that discriminated against women and girls. He said the situation can be changed only if women and girls in the villages are helped to be able to stand on their own feet.