In the backyard of the immigration office, players are burning their cricket jerseys and then traveling in small groups while making other secret plans.
Through this method, 19 contracted Afghan women cricketers managed to leave Afghanistan, travel to Pakistan, and eventually reach Australia with the help of Pakistani and Australian cricket authorities.
According to the website Indian Express, after the Afghan government banned women’s cricket in 2021, these 19 contracted Afghan women cricketers, including Banafsha Hashimi, were brought to Australia with the assistance of former Australian cricketer Mel Jones.
Mel Jones shared the story, mentioning that during quarantine at a Melbourne hotel, she communicated with Banafsha Hashimi via text messages.
Speaking to Fox Cricket, Mel Jones said, “I messaged her, saying, ‘You probably don’t know me, but do you or any other female cricketers feel that your lives are in danger, and do you want to get out of there?'”
In response, Banafsha Hashimi messaged back, saying, ‘Yes, we want to do this.'”
According to Fox Cricket, Mel Jones set up a backyard immigration officer setup in her Melbourne hotel room and spoke with the Australian government, requesting humanitarian visas for the Afghan cricketers based on human rights concerns.
