The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E17: Tooba Stumps the Taliban

About this episode

The episode tells the story of Tooba Sarwari and the Afghan Women’s Cricket Team's struggle to flee Taliban rule and rebuild their lives in Australia.

When the Taliban captured Herat City in August 2021, Tooba Sarwari had just one thing on her mind: cricket. Would she ever be able to play her beloved sport again? And more pressing, would the Taliban find the evidence of her and her team mates’ sporting achievements? If they did, it would surely spell the end for them and their families. This is the story of how Tooba, and the other members of the Afghan Women’s Cricket Team, risked everything to flee Afghanistan and start a new life in Australia - with the help of some cricketing friends. And how once they were there, they began to rebuilt the team… The Girlfriends: Spotlight is produced by Novel for iHeartPodcasts. For more from Novel visit novel.audio

People in this episode

Guest: Tooba Sarwari

Topics covered

• cricket
• Taliban
• refugees
• women's sports
• Afghanistan
• Australia

Keywords

• Tooba Sarwari
• Afghan Women’s Cricket Team
• Taliban
• refugees
• cricket
• August 2021
• Herat City
• Australia

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Afghan Women’s Cricket Team, iHeartPodcasts, Novel

Places: Afghanistan, Australia

More episodes of The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight

• The Girlfriends S6/E3: The Golden Age · September 7, 2026 · 47 min
• The Girlfriends S6/E2: Losing It · August 31, 2026 · 42 min
• The Girlfriends S6/E1: On Air · August 24, 2026 · 44 min
• Introducing The Girlfriends: Flight or Fight · August 17, 2026 · 3 min
• Relisten to The Girlfriends: Spotlight: Rose Solves, At Least, 86 Cold Cases · July 20, 2026 · 41 min
• The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E24: Sucheta Exposes the Big Bull · July 13, 2026 · 39 min