The tumultuous trials of women's football in Afghanistan

Afghan women’s sports in the 20th century

Throughout history Afghan women have faced significant opposition when it came to their participation in sports, during the early 20th century public participation was almost never seen as conservative cultural norms restricted women’s activities to inside the home.

The systemic persecution of women's football

When conversations regarding women's football are had, there always seems to be this underlying misunderstanding about the history of the sport and why it's growth has taken the trajectory it has. I find that more often than not the general football fan doesn't know that women's involvement in football isn't a new thing, women have always been into football. And so I can imagine the question "If women have always been into football then why does women's football seem like such a new thing? Why is it not as big as its male counterpart?".

Women's early involvement in football

Painting by the Ming Dynasty painter Du Jin shows women playing Cuju