Human Rights Groups Push FIFA To Recognize Afghan Women's Team In Exile

The organisation says dwindling financial support threatens essential services for millions of Afghans.

In a statement released on Tuesday, 25 March, the NRC highlighted a widespread drop in humanitarian aid. This has weakened the presence of relief groups in Afghanistan, endangering countless lives. Since January, the NRC has closed two operational centres in the country. It warned that two more may shut within months without urgent funding.

“The centres have been crucial in supporting returning and internally displaced Afghans, providing assistance with housing, food, legal assistance and referrals to healthcare providers, particularly for Afghan women who are heading their families and depend on female-to-female aid,” the NRC stated.

Despite the closures, the NRC pledged to keep supporting Afghanistan’s vulnerable, including women and children. It blamed the funding crisis on the U.S. suspension of aid and cuts from Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The group cautioned that global support for at-risk groups could plummet further.

Suze van Meegen, NRC’s interim country director in Afghanistan, described the situation as dire. “These funding cuts have far-reaching consequences. They extend from communities that have lost access to basic assistance to thousands of experienced Afghan staff that have lost their livelihoods,” she said.

The NRC urged swift action from the international community to avert a deeper crisis. It appealed for funds to help a population scarred by decades of conflict. This is not the first time the organisation has raised concerns. It has previously warned that aid reductions could disrupt its work across multiple nations.

UNICEF continues its efforts to eliminate polio in Afghanistan.

Tajudeen Oyewale, UNICEF’s representative in Afghanistan, announced the figures on Tuesday. He said that the organisation, together with its partners, aims to vaccinate every Afghan child against polio.

Polio remains a major health concern in Afghanistan. Many children contract the disease due to limited healthcare services. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 25 polio cases were reported in Afghanistan last year.

Recently, the Taliban’s Ministry of Public Health reported the first polio case of 2025. It was identified in a five-year-old child from Qarto village in Balamorghab district of Badghis province.

In a phone call with Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, Rubio praised Qatar's diplomatic efforts. The US State Department confirmed that George Glezmann was freed through Qatar's mediation.

On Monday, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi also thanked Qatar for its role in improving relations between the Taliban and the United States. Muttaqi conveyed his gratitude during a meeting with Mirdef Al-Qashouti, Chargé d'Affaires of Qatar's embassy in Kabul.

The Taliban released George Glezmann last week after holding him captive for more than two years. His release followed a visit to Kabul by a US delegation led by Adam Boehler, Donald Trump's special envoy for hostage affairs, and Zalmay Khalilzad, former US envoy for Afghanistan peace talks. This was the first official US visit to Kabul since the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

Following Glezmann's release, the US State Department also removed Taliban Interior Minister Sirajuddin Haqqani and two other Haqqani network leaders from its rewards list.

Sadat, executive director of Roshaniya, an organisation supporting the LGBTQ+ community, confirmed the detention in a statement on Tuesday. The activists were apprehended while attempting to board a flight to Tehran on Thursday, 20 March.

Maryam Ravish, an Afghan lesbian woman, and Abdul Ghafoor Sabery, a transgender Afghan, were stopped by Taliban intelligence officers as they prepared to board a Mahan Air flight. Parwen Hussaini, Ravish’s same-sex partner, was allowed to leave because she was accompanied by a male relative.

Sadat said the Taliban identified the activists by inspecting their mobile phones, subsequently preventing their departure. Another individual assisting the evacuation attempt was also detained.

Roshaniya stated it had spent more than $5,000 and several months planning to evacuate these three LGBTQ+ community members from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Efforts by Roshaniya to secure the release of the detained activists through their families were unsuccessful, as their families refused to cooperate.

The organisation has received conflicting reports about Maryam Ravish’s condition. Some sources claim she remains in Taliban custody; neighbours report her release, and acquaintances say she has attempted suicide.

Neither the Taliban nor the activists’ families have publicly commented on the incident.

Initially, the FBI offered a $5 million reward for information leading to Haqqani’s capture. After the Taliban retook Afghanistan in 2021, the reward increased to $10 million.

Sirajuddin Haqqani currently serves as the Taliban’s interior minister. He is widely regarded as the second-most powerful figure within the Taliban, after leader Hibatullah Akhundzada.

On Saturday, the US State Department removed Haqqani’s name from its Rewards for Justice programme. Despite this, the FBI had initially maintained the reward on its site before removing it entirely.

Haqqani is described by the FBI as a senior leader of the Haqqani Network with strong ties to al-Qaeda. He has been directly implicated in numerous terrorist attacks, including the deadly 2008 assault on a Kabul hotel that killed six people, including an American citizen.

The FBI also linked Haqqani to cross-border attacks on US and coalition forces, and the attempted assassination of former Afghan President Hamid Karzai in 2008.

The State Department confirmed to Afghanistan International on Monday that Haqqani and the Haqqani Network remain designated as terrorists. However, it stated that the reward for his capture has been withdrawn.