HIGHLIGHTS

• Fanoos Basir fled the country and reached France after Taliban takover
• Fanoos joined the Afghanistan women’s football team in 2010
• She blamed the United State of America for Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan

Former Afghanistan women’s football team player, Fanoos Basir fled her nation after the Taliban took over the country in a dramatic fashion, capturing the capital city Kabul in August 2021. Despite promises from Taliban representatives that women will be allowed more freedom than the situation when the last time the Taliban ran the country, women in the country are sceptical and unsure of their future.

Fanoos Basir, speaking to India Today, said that she doesn’t believe the Taliban and that the Islamist movement will never change their attitude towards women. Taliban was ousted in the US-led invasion in 2001, but 20 years later has taken power again and forced out a foreign military mission, leading to the evacuation of tens of thousands of vulnerable Afghans. The last flights left on Monday.

In 2010, Basir had joined a fledgling national football team that trained in a dilapidated stadium and started to take part in tournaments abroad. However, the national team was dissolved and a large contingent of current players and staff were evacuated on board an Australian military aircraft.

Former national women’s football team captain Khalida Popal, who is now based out of Denmark, had urged the women’s team footballers to burn their certificates, jerseys and medals fearing attack from Taliban, who had banned sport for women during their previous regime.

Fanoos Basir not just did that but tried to flee the country with her ailing parents for as many as 3 days after the Taliban captured Kabul on August 15. After umpteen unsuccessful attempts, Basir, with the help of French embassy, fled to France.

“Of course, we didn’t know the Taliban would come as quickly as they did. Everyone knows what they did 30 years ago. They consider women like zero. They say that everything will change, we will allow women to work but I believe these are all fake face of the Taliban that they are showing to the world. They will never change. They have the same mentality towards women,” Basir told India Today from France.

“So personally, my belief was that I will never work as part of their government of NGOs because working with them means supporting them. I will never support them. I will never trust them.

“They are still killing people. They have the same thoughts, they have the same attitude towards women. Even if they allow us to work, we have to be accompanied by our brother or father. So it’s impossible.

“I was working as a civil engineer and I worked among a lot of men. So it’s impossible for me.

“They are fake and they are showing off to the world they are good and they have changed. But they never change,” she added.

Who are they to forgive us?’

Fanoos Basir stressed that she doesn’t believe Taliban’s promises to allow women some representation in their latest regime and these are deception tactics employed by the Islamist movement which wants to portray a better image of itself to the world.

“They spoke about resuming all sporting activities. But there was no mention of women’s sports. How can they change? They are saying that they are going to forgive us. Who are they to forgive us? They have killed so many people, it should be the other way around.” she added.

‘I don’t want to talk to a woman’

Recalling the horrific experience when she tried to flee the country from the Kabul airport, Fanoos Basir said a Tablian representative did not even speak to her when she sought clarification from him. Basir said she saw people being shot down as the Taliban warned people against fleeing the country in a chaotic few days at the airport.

We tried a lot for 2-3 days (to flee). I had my mother who was sick. I went to the airport, there was a lot of crowd, they were shooting a lot of people. I saw them shooting people in the head and foot. They were bleeding, and they were beating them with sticks. I covered my face with a burqa. When I approached them, I wanted to ask them a question but a Taliban man pushed me. He said ‘I don’t want to talk to a woman’. He asked me to return to my home,” she added.

Fanoos Basir blamed the United States of America for the return of Taliban in Afghanistan.

“If America wants to kick them out, they can do it in one or two hours. They don’t want to do that. They have drones, they have satellites. How is it possible that they are fighting against the Taliban for 20 years and did nothing?” she said.