“Dare to shine” is the motto of this women’s World Cup. Posters with the advertising slogan hang everywhere in the inner cities and stadiums of France, they flicker across the screen and send the message out into the world. In a commercial, prominent players explain what they understand these three words to mean. Pablo Aimar, former Argentina player and now coach, says: “Be yourself, free yourself from all the pressure, the prejudices”. “You have the opportunity to do something extraordinary and special,” says German ex-national player Cecilia Sasic. And Brazil’s record player Marta explains: “It should motivate you to take risks in your life, that you can be afraid of making mistakes”.
While the best female footballers in the world are currently playing for the World Cup title in France, the Afghan national players are currently fighting for something much more important than a trophy. They are fighting for dignity, identity and for the right to be heard. They have dared to say something that is not tolerated in their society – that they have been and are sexually harassed, raped, physically and mentally abused by officials of their own association.
“They have given up their whole lives, everything they used to fight for to play football for their country, to make people proud,” says national coach Kelly Lindsey with tears in her eyes and a faltering voice at a press conference of AFDP Global, an organisation that promotes tolerance and respect in football. “Although the young women had the courage to tell the truth, they now have to hide. They can no longer show their faces, are rejected or their families threatened.
Afghanistan coach Kelly Lindsey has been outspoken in her criticism of FIFA.
Less than eight hours later, just 20 kilometres from Lyon’s old town, the stronghold of women’s football the Parc Olympique Lyonnais hosts the second semi-final of the World Cup. Good-humored spectators from all over the world leave the official FIFA fan shops empty and celebrate themselves and the two teams, the Netherlands and Sweden.
‘No one is listening ‘
“Last February, March, we went to a training camp in Jordan and the players started hesitantly, then vehemently complaining about the two travelling male officials who always travelled with them,” Kelly said. “They would harass them, go into their rooms, force them to come into their rooms – the girls all felt uncomfortable. Rumors of sexual abuse made the rounds.” The former US national player immediately informed the Afghan Football Association (AFF). The reaction? “Things like that happen.” It was difficult for FIFA to be heard on the issue. When they finally found someone willing to deal with it, it felt like an eight-month tennis match, Kelly describes.
“It went back and forth, we tried to hold FIFA accountable, they wanted to turn the problem over to the UN, back to FIFA, back to the UN.” Kelly didn’t have the feeling that something was actually being done. “Meanwhile, the girls became more and more desperate, they continued to be abused. We had to somehow make sure they were safe, we had to try to get them out of the country so they could talk openly.” It’s frightening to learn that no one is listening to you, that you just have to go on as if nothing had happened,” Kelly said.
The football business continues as if nothing happened. The media are also involved, celebrating prominent players who are impressively campaigning for equality and against discrimination. Everyone reports about the US-American Megan Rapinoe, who “doesn’t want to go to the damn White House if she wins the title”. The subject of abuse, on the other hand, is too difficult to sell well.
‘Sweeping it under the carpet’
One day after the start of the Women’s World Cup, FIFA publishes a statement on its website, hidden deep in the navigation menus, that it “finds Mr Keramuudin Karim, former president of the Afghan Football Association and former FIFA member, guilty of exploiting his position by sexually abusing various female players in violation of the Code of Ethics”. FIFA blocks him for life and he has to pay a fine. No mention is made of other officials who are also said to have harassed the players.
The Afghan women’s football team was established in 1995
“The defendants are members of the Afghan Football Association. The government has started an investigation. The Secretary General has been banned from travelling,” said Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan, founder of AFDP Global. “At the same time, however, the Secretary General was elected representative of FIFA’s Asian Football Association. It’s bizarre that he passed FIFA’s integrity check”.
“FIFA is simply sweeping the problem under the carpet,” Afghan coach Lindsey explains. The lifelong suspension of a single man happened “to show the world that we’ve done something. But FIFA must finally get involved to bring about systematic change. Perpetrators must be held accountable and victims must be protected. It’s just not enough.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino, in particular, accuses Kelly of inaction: “He is a disgrace. He has lost my integrity. And frankly, he is not my president. He does not stand by his own FIFA human rights guidelines. He should no longer be president, after all that FIFA has done with this scandal.
Infantino will be at the Lyon stadium on Sunday, when the world champions will be crowned. He will say that the players had the courage to shine and present the World Cup under confetti. On the other hand, he won’t say a word about the Afghan national players.
Article source: https://www.dw.com/en/fifa-accused-of-failing-afghan-sexual-abuse-victims/a-49475340?maca=en-rss-en-sports-1027-xml-atom