The women on Afghanistan’s national women’s football team managed to flee from Afghanistan to Melbourne, Australia in the nick of time just before the Taliban takeover in 2021 to preserve their freedom as women.

Just 48 hours before a suicide bomber killed 180 people at the airport near where the women fled, the team had camped out with aid from military troops. They were waiting for their opportunity to board a C-130 transport plane in order to get out of the country before the Taliban takeover.

They worried that the base of their fundamental rights would be stripped away due to the ideals of the Taliban in regard to women’s rights. The Taliban has a history of implementing rules that restrict a woman’s access to healthcare, education, body autonomy, and much more. On top of this, it is predicted that almost every single person in Afghanistan will undergo extreme famine.

The following interview follows the tear-filled debut of their team in Australia. Regardless of not winning, they were so relieved to just be able to play as a team again, even if it was in exile.

CNN has an article in which they interviewed some members of the team, to which Fatima, the spokesperson of Afghanistan’s Women’s National Football team, and other members reveal their emotional journey and play-by-play of what went down eight months ago. Multiple women were left taking care of themselves and younger family members, and others were too emotional to answer certain questions asked of them.

In the interview, there was a sense of grief in which Fatima and the other women detail how they are dealing with the burden of leaving everything and everyone behind. They speak about their families and the players they weren’t able to get out of Afghanistan.

The women also expressed relief at how relaxed and inclusive they found Australia to be. Marsul, one of the players, expressed in the CNN article previously mentioned that “They accept all kinds of people. They don’t ask us, ‘Are you Muslim? Are you Christian? That’s such a good thing and Australians are such a kind people. I love it’.” 

The Melbourne Victory Soccer Club provided aid to the women upon their entry into Australia by providing materials and facilities to practice so they can continue to play. Their American coach, Haley Carter, speaks on how important these women are as a symbol of hope for those left in Afghanistan.

Now that they have reached safety, they want to play under their name and flag to show the Taliban they aren’t going anywhere, and they also want to show that the Taliban’s attempt to silence women won’t go as far as they hope.

They want to be a voice for the unheard women and children left in Afghanistan, a beacon of hope for women wanting to regain the freedom they lost to Taliban control.