Girls Who Flee Taliban Faces Disruption In UK

The situation happened after The Independent revealed sometimes in September that the Taliban girls were stranded in Afghanistan, and then later in month that Pakistan would allow them to enter the country on temporary visas.

According to report, the girls from the Afghan national youth football team and their families, who escaped the Taliban, face being stuck in temporary accommodation or split up because a council says it can’t rehouse them all.

A leaked email from Khalida Popal, the former Afghanistan women’s team captain, suggests Leeds City Council is refusing to provide accommodation for all 132 Afghans in the group, which includes 32 teenage football players, their families, coaches and other staff.

Leeds United chairman, Andrea Radrizzani, said his football club would “give the girls a prosperous and peaceful future” as he offered to put all the players on its youth development teams — but the government and local authorities are already trying process thousands of refugees since Afghanistan fell to Taliban control in August.

In the leaked email, Ms Popal states: “If Leeds Council cannot host all 132 people, we need to find other clubs, foundations, universities and split the team, so far we haven’t got any.”

A source closely involved in helping the girls, the youngest of whom is just 12 years old, said: “They have already had the trauma of fleeing the Taliban and then now they face disruption. It is sad they have to break up the group because they know each other so well and get on so well. It is frustrating.

“They have been late arriving to the UK partly due to struggles to find them long-term accommodation here.”

The girls and their families are expected in Britain on Thursday, flying from Pakistan to Birmingham where will be put into quarantine hotels for up to two weeks.

Leeds City Council denied claims it would only house five of the girls, but refused to say how many it will accommodate.

A spokesperson for Leeds City Council said: “Leeds is fully committed to accommodating Afghan refugees and a large number of families have already been accommodated in the city.

“However, the issues affecting all Afghan refugees, including those involved in women’s football, are complex and we continue to work with government and other partners to address the challenges faced.” 

Initial efforts to evacuate the girls to Doha did not work as they were blocked from getting to Kabul airport because of the ongoing terror threat. The girls were trapped in hiding from the Taliban in Kabul for another 10 days before gaining temporary visas to go into Pakistan. 

Kashif Siddiqi, a London-born footballer who played for Pakistan’s international team, has spearheaded the campaign to get the squad and their loved ones over to Britain. Mr Siddiqi, who co-founded Football for Peace, is currently in Islamabad alongside Ms Popal to help plan the girls’ imminent journey to the UK. 

Ms Popal told The Independent: “The girls have been through a lot. They have had a very, very tough journey. They have been through a lot of stress and risk - hiding them in a hostel in Kabul and being displaced from their homes. 

“Their life was in danger not just from the Taliban but from men in the community. I am very thankful to the UK for saving their dreams and lives. I cannot wait to see them breathing freedom and practising basic human rights.” 

Ms Popal, who was forced to escape Afghanistan in 2011 because helping set up the national women’s football team had put her life in danger, said women’s football in Afghanistan is based on activism and shining a light on the “social and cultural challenges” women face. 

“We were standing to say we are half of the population, you cannot take our rights. We are standing against Taliban ideology. We were at great risk not just for playing football but for activism,” she said. 

“It’s quite sad and disappointing that only a handful of Afghan refugee girls from the national football team and their families were assisted, especially when they just faced the darkest moments of their lives.”

Heather Barr, of Human Rights Watch, said it is “wonderful” the girls have escaped and are due to travel to the UK but warned they need support once they arrive.