Her cover drive and how she ran
are now haram
under the rule of the Taliban

Can she stay in? For sure she can
She can't be out without a man
in ancient, new Afghanistan

She'd tackle assumptions and she'd score
but won't be playing any more
She's fallen foul of holy law

Her parents murdered, house burned down
She grabbed her sisters, fled the town
and walked two hundred miles of ground

To reach a place they might take flight
to wait at the gate and hope despite
the odds that there's an end in sight

While those who gave the battle orders
to storm across a nation's borders
turn their backs on sporting daughters

Instead fall in behind the Man
who wrested back Afghanistan
for the Taliban

Published in Women's Fightback 26, Autumn/Winter 2021

Image by Clker-Free-Vector-Images from Pixabay