Mariam and Shabnam Ruhin carefully prepare the soccer field at the “Firebird Leisure Center” in Hamburg-Harburg. They have balls, little hats and colored shirts with them. Football training should begin in a few minutes. The two sisters founded the “Playmakers” project in 2021 and use it to support young girls who need help at school or are interested in playing football.
“When we were children, we were already interested in football,” Shabnam remembers in an interview with DW. However, it was difficult to find a team where girls could play football, adds the 33-year-old. “That’s why we try to give girls the opportunity to play football.” And for the sisters it’s about more than just a leisure activity.
Through sport they want to help the children, most of whom come from socially disadvantaged areas in Hamburg, to gain more self-confidence and independence. They also support the young people in finding jobs and internships with small workshops. “We want to try to open doors for them through education and sport and thus offer them more opportunities for their future,” reports Mariam.
Proud to play football for Afghanistan
Shabnam and Mariam were both born in Hamburg; their parents fled Afghanistan to Germany in the 1990s. The two of them decided early on to play football and played football themselves. “For me, football is a feeling of freedom,” says Shabnam.
With a lot of talent and joy of playing, the athletes drew attention to themselves at the small Hamburg football club “Einigkeit Wilhelmsburg” and were discovered by scouts from the Afghan national football team in 2011. A short time later, a dream came true for the sisters when they were allowed to stand on the pitch for their parents’ homeland for the first time.
“It was very special to be able to represent our country,” says Mariam. And her sister adds: “I’m very proud of it. Especially because you played for a country where women’s football wasn’t common. That felt very good.”
Abuse scandal in Afghan football
The national team career starts like a dream for Shabnam and Mariam, but the sisters also have to fight against resistance early on. “Not everyone was happy and accepted that we were playing football. On social media, many people wrote bad things about us and said that women were not allowed to play football,” recalls Shabnam.
“At the time I felt like I wasn’t doing the right thing. But now that I’ve grown up, I know that as women we have the right to play football and pursue our dreams.”
The footballers defy the cultural and traditional norms that prevail in Afghanistan and become role models for thousands of girls and women – they become a symbol of resistance and awakening.
But Shabnam and Mariam’s dream is shattered when an abuse scandal in Afghan football comes to light in 2018 through their joint initiative with Khalida Popal, the former captain of the national team.
“Bad things happened in Afghanistan because girls were abused by coaches and members of the football association,” Shabnam told DW. Among other things, the then AFF president Keramuddin Keram was accused of raping female players. After much hesitation, the world football association FIFA banned Keram for life. The Ruhin sisters also draw conclusions and resign from the national team.
“We said that as women we couldn’t tolerate this. So we left the national team,” says Shabnam. “We wanted to send a message that you can’t do something like that to an Afghan woman.”
Shabnam Ruhin: “FIFA has to help us”
Since the Taliban came to power in 2021, the living conditions of women in Afghanistan have continued to deteriorate. Female athletes in particular live in fear, are persecuted and fear for their lives. “I saw the wild Taliban everywhere,” reported national soccer player Shamsia Amiri to ZDF in 2023. “They hit people, shot around, spread fear and terror.”
The national players flee abroad – also with the help of ex-captain Popal and the Ruhin sisters. Most of them now live in exile in Australia and have been kicking the ball for the “Melbourne Victory FC AWT”, the “Afghan Women’s Team” in the Australian league since 2022.
Together with Popal, the Ruhin sisters founded the organization “Girl Power” in 2014 to support young women. Since 2021, they have also been using their association to help former teammates. “We try to build bridges and create a network to support each other,” says Mariam.
The women have been demanding that FIFA recognize the Afghan women’s national football team for several years – but the world association has remained silent. “That’s our biggest problem. We’re trying to convince the association to recognize the national team,” says Shabnam. “FIFA has to help us.”
Mariam Ruhin: “Women in Afghanistan are becoming invisible”
Only through recognition can the national team take part in international games. Without this attention, female athletes continue to fade into the background. To counteract this, Shabnam and Mariam repeatedly draw attention to the situation of their former teammates and also to women in Afghanistan.
“My voice represents the girls in Afghanistan. As long as I’m silent, the women won’t be heard either,” says Mariam. It is important so that they are not forgotten.
“We want to show the Taliban that they have not managed to oppress us, that we still play football and are still a community,” said the 31-year-old. But it is also important to be recognized by FIFA in order to be able to take part in international tournaments. Because “the situation in Afghanistan is becoming more and more difficult. Women are losing more and more rights and are becoming invisible,” said the former national player.
Her sister adds: “I hope that the girls in Afghanistan will one day get their rights. I hope that they have the same rights that we have here in Germany. That they can decide for themselves that they can do sports “, go to school and be able to leave the house,” says the 33-year-old, addressing the women and girls in Afghanistan:
“I want to tell all Afghan women and girls to stay strong. We are always with you and will continue to fight for you.”