KABUL: Afghanistan has suspended five officials including the president of the country’s football federation over allegations of sexual and physical abuse against the national women’s team, officials said Sunday.
The decision comes days after President Ashraf Ghani ordered the attorney general to conduct a “thorough investigation” into what he called “shocking” claims of abuse by male officials against members of the women’s team — allegations that were first reported in Britain’s Guardian newspaper.
“The attorney general’s office has suspended... the president of the football federation, his deputy, the federation’s secretary general, the head of goalkeepers and the head of provincial coordinators,” Jamshid Rasuli, spokesman for the attorney general, told AFP.
“To conduct the investigations thoroughly, collect evidence and to ensure justice, the team of prosecutors decided to suspend these people,” he said, adding that all the suspended officials were male.
The Guardian cited what it described as senior figures associated with the women’s team who said the abuse had taken place in Afghanistan, including at the Afghanistan Football Federation (AFF) headquarters, and at a training camp in Jordan last February.
The story quoted former captain Khalida Popal — who fled the country after receiving death threats and has spoken out previously about the discrimination women face in Afghanistan — as saying male officials were “coercing” female players.
Popal welcomed news of the suspensions, tweeting: “If we all stand together and raise our voice and become the #Voice4voiceless no one would be dare to hurt innocents. #Football is not abuse.”
Safi Sadab, an AFF spokesman, told AFP the federation was ready to “cooperate with the investigation.”
Football’s world governing body FIFA has also said it was looking into the claims, while the Danish sportswear company Hummel announced it had canceled a sponsorship deal with the team due to the allegations.
Afghanistan has made strides to promote female football — as well as the national side, four years ago it launched its first all-women’s football league that ran in parallel with the men’s.
In 2017 the female teams were sidelined by a lack of funding.
Afghan football chiefs suspended over sex abuse on women’s team
Afghan football chiefs suspended over sex abuse on women’s team
- “The attorney general’s office has suspended... the president of the football federation, his deputy, the federation’s secretary general, the head of goalkeepers and the head of provincial coordinators”
- Afghanistan has made strides to promote female football — as well as the national side
Tanzania president remorseful over Internet shutdown on election day
- President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country
- Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the Internet was shut down
DODOMA, Tanzania: Tanzania’s president has, for the first time since the disputed October election, commented on a six-day Internet shutdown as the country went through its worst postelection violence.
President Samia Suluhu Hassan on Thursday expressed “sympathy” to diplomats and foreign nationals living in the country, saying the government would strive to ensure there is never a repeat of the same.
Hassan won the October election with more than 97 percent of the vote after candidates from the two main opposition parties were barred from running and the country’s main opposition leader remained in prison facing treason charges.
Violence broke out on election day and went on for days as the Internet was shut down amid a heavy police crackdown that left hundreds of people dead, according to rights groups.
Hassan blamed the violence on foreigners and pardoned hundreds of young people who had been arrested, saying they were acting under peer pressure.
Speaking to ambassadors, high commissioners and representatives of international organizations on Thursday in the capital, Dodoma, she sought to reassure envoys of their safety, saying the government would remain vigilant to prevent a repeat of the disruption.
“To our partners in the diplomatic community and foreigners residing here in Tanzania, I express my sincere sympathy for the uncertainty, service restrictions and Internet shutdowns you experienced,” she said.
Hassan defended her administration, saying the measures were taken to preserve constitutional order and protect citizens.
“I assure you that we will remain vigilant to ensure your safety and prevent any recurrence of such experiences,” the president told diplomats on Thursday.
Tanzania has, since the October elections, established a commission of inquiry to look into the violence that left hundreds dead and property worth millions of shillings destroyed in a country that has enjoyed relative calm for decades.
Foreign observers said the election failed to meet democratic standards because key opposition figures were barred.
