"Former Soccer Team Captain Appeals: Life Threatened by Taliban for Being a Female Athlete... Teammates Terrified"

Kalida Popal, who served as the early captain of the Afghanistan women's national football team and fled to Denmark due to death threats. / Photo by AP Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seohyun] Kalida Popal (34), who served as the captain of the Afghanistan women's national football team and sought asylum in Denmark, appealed, "The players are crying, their lives are in danger."

On the 17th (local time), Popal said in an interview with BBC Sport and the Associated Press, "We cannot sleep, we are crying and feeling helpless. All our dreams have disappeared. It feels like a nightmare."

This reflects concerns that the Taliban, the armed group that has returned as the ruling power in Afghanistan, will threaten the safety of female football players. On the 15th, the Taliban effectively declared victory in the civil war against the Afghan government, and President Ashraf Ghani fled the country.

Popal, a key member of the Afghanistan women's national football team in 2007, escaped to India in 2011 after receiving death threats simply for being a "woman who plays football." She later moved to Norway and has been living in Denmark since 2016.

In the interview, Popal said, "I am receiving messages from former female teammates still in Afghanistan," adding, "The players there say they cannot even breathe, are terrified, and are receiving no protection."

She revealed that she has deleted the Afghanistan women's football team's Twitter account and is advising her former teammates to close their personal social media accounts. This is to reduce the possibility of the Taliban identifying and retaliating against women who have played or are playing football.

Popal continued, "The current situation (with the Taliban's return) feels like everything has gone back to square one," lamenting, "The withdrawal of Western forces, including the United States, has severely endangered the safety of Afghan women and girls."

Previously, during their five-year rule starting in 1996, the Taliban severely restricted women's social activities. They completely barred girls from receiving education and prohibited women from working. The Taliban and other Islamic fundamentalists in Afghanistan do not tolerate "women playing football," viewing it as an effort to advance women's rights.

Popal said, "We encouraged women and girls to stand up proudly and be brave," but now "they are told not to raise their voices. It is very painful." She added, "The players have spoken out for women's rights, but now their lives are in serious danger."

Popal appealed to the international community, saying, "Please help protect the women whose identities have been exposed and ensure the players' safety."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.