been exercising their rights envisaged in the post-Taliban country's constitution.
"I want to be flag bearer in the upcoming competition due in February in Kuwait," said Noshin, a member of Afghan women cricket team.
An energetic Noshin, 19, like many Afghans, uses only one name and attired in sport costume, told Xinhua that "I don't want the conflicts to destroy my dreams and ruin my future. I hate the war."
Noshin like many others, looks ambitious and was playing cricket in Bagh-e-Zanana, the only women park in the capital city Kabul where women even could not go inside during Taliban regime which collapsed in late 2001 by the NATO-led military campaign.
Dozens of women cricket players were busy in playing the game in this January, and the best ones of them will form Women National Cricket Team to compete in Kuwait next month.
The hardliner Taliban regime during its six-year reign had confined women to their houses and outlawed education for girls. Afghanistan only Sport Stadium -- Ghazi Stadium in Kabul had seen chopping hands, flogging and killing people on charge of involvement in criminal activities during Taliban reign on each Friday -- the Muslim weekly holiday.
"I wish our team to win the Asian cap tournament in Kuwait and that is why we are exercising hard to materialize our dream," she said.
Almost half of Afghanistan's 30 million population, according to another lady cricketer Muska, 28, are women and girls and deserve to play role in rebuilding the society."It is unwise to keep a major chunk of population at home sitting idle. We have to keep them engaged in social and economic activities and patronize them," said Muska who has been playing cricket for the past 18 months.
During the bloody factional fighting in Afghanistan, Muska's family like millions of Afghans left the country to neighboring Pakistan and used to live there for over two decades.
She had learned playing cricket in childhood when she used to live in Pakistan along with her family.
As part of efforts to restore women rights, the government of Afghanistan has initiated giving awareness campaign utilizing all facilities including religious scholars to enable women have their due status in the conservative country; but there is still a long way to go.
"We are preparing the team to participate the Kuwait championship," the coach of the team, a Pakistani lady, Hajira said to Xinhua.
"The team is good, you can see the girls are very good, professional players and very hard workers," she added.
"Here are 35 girls in the team and the board is to select 16 best players. We hope to bring medals," the hopeful and confident trainer Hajira, 30 said.
Asian Cricket Coucil Women's Twenty20 Championship 2011 is to be held in Kuwait from Feb. 17 to 25. The participating teams are Kuwait, Afghanistan, China, Chinese Hong Kong, Iran, Malaysia, Nepal, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
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