Afghanistan to have gender equal team at Paris Olympics 2024, no Taliban allowed: IOC
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that Afghanistan will send gender equal team to the Paris Olympics 2024 with three men and as many women, while no Taliban official will be allowed at the Summer Games.
Furthermore, the IOC spokesperson Mark Adams stated that fielding a gender-equal team will send a message to both Afghanistan and the rest of the world of what is possible. Notably, Afghanistan, under Taliban rule, has restricted women and girls’ access to sports and gyms.
It’s important to note that the head of Afghanistan’s National Olympic Committee (NOC) and its Secretary General are currently in exile, according to the IOC.
“We have been working with the NOC president and the secretary general, who we recognise in exile, over some time. We made it clear we wanted a gender-equal team. That was the demand and that is what we achieved,” Mark Adams said in a press conference.
“The clear idea is we want to get Afghan athletes and a gender-based team in Paris because of the demonstration that it gives to the world, at home in Afghanistan and also to the rest of the world,” he added.
It’s worth noting that since taking control in August 2021, the Taliban have closed girls’ high schools, placed travel restrictions on women without a male guardian, and restricted access to parks and gyms for women and girls.
Additionally, Adams emphasized that no Taliban official would be accredited for the quadrennial event in Paris.
“There will be no place for Afghan authorities, the Taliban, in Paris itself. No representative of the de facto authorities, the Taliban government, will be accredited for the Olympic Games 2024,” he stated.
IOC suspended Afghanistan’s NOC earlier in 1999
Furthermore, the IOC stated that recently they had talks with both the Afghanistan NOC and its sports authorities in order to reverse the current restrictions on access to sports for women and girls in the country.
In the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024, Afghanistan’s male athletes will be taking part in athletics, swimming, and judo while the women will compete in the athletics and cycling competitions.
Notably, the IOC suspended Afghanistan’s NOC in 1999, and the country was banned from participating in the 2000 Sydney Games. However, the nation was reinstated after the US and allied forces invaded the country and ousted the Taliban regime.