The United Nations says that sports have a unique capacity to foster connection, inclusion, and peace in an increasingly fragmented world.
The UN stated today (Monday, April 6) on the occasion of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, in a statement, that sport as a universal language transcends cultural and social boundaries and acts as a powerful driver of social transformation.
The organization added that sport connects communities across borders, helps reduce the isolation of marginalized groups, and creates space for dialogue, solidarity, and mutual respect.
The United Nations further says that sport plays a constructive role in advancing sustainable development goals such as ensuring health, promoting gender equality, reducing inequalities, and building peaceful and inclusive societies.
This comes at a time when girls and women in Afghanistan have been marginalized from sports spaces over the past nearly five years, and the Taliban have declared women’s sports entirely banned.
The Taliban, after closing women’s sports facilities, have even shut down underground women’s gyms and respond with violence to those who provide opportunities for women to engage in sports.
In the most recent case in January of this year, the Taliban arrested Khadija Ahmadzai, a Taekwondo coach in Herat, for establishing an underground gym for girls and detained her for more than 13 days.
The United Nations General Assembly designated April 6 in 2013 as the “International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.”
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