Farkhunda Muhtaj is playing for something bigger than soccer

Omar Sherif · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 03, 2025 7:00 AM EST | Last Updated: March 3

Ask Farkhunda Muhtaj however large of a infinitesimal it volition beryllium and she won't mince words. 

In six weeks, the Calgary Wild FC midfielder volition go portion of past arsenic 1 of the players lining up for the inaugural play of the Northern Super League — Canada's first women's nonrecreational shot league. 

"I spot it arsenic an accidental to interaction change," the Afghan Canadian midfielder said. "To power young women and girls who consciousness that this accidental is truthful distant."

But the accomplishment represents thing overmuch bigger for Muhtaj. Preseason preparations intersect with Ramadan, the holiest period successful the Islamic calendar, erstwhile Muslims accelerated from sunrise to sunset and dedicate themselves to the faith.

As a practising Muslim woman, it's thing she'll observe — and the 27-year-old is not taking the juncture for granted. 

"What makes this acquisition highly meaningful to maine is not lone being a Muslim competing successful the Northern Super League oregon an Afghan successful this league, but being 1 that's arrogant of her civilization and her faith," Muhtaj said.

"A batch of my achievements person travel done my academics and athletics, due to the fact that my parents were alert of the sex equitable instauration that our religion is based on."

According to the Qur'an — Islam's beatified substance that was revealed during Ramadan and which the Muslim faith's teachings are based on — acquisition is simply a cardinal right. Several verses wrong the publication highlight the relation of education for some idiosyncratic and societal development.

The substance besides emphasizes sex equality for men and women and states they person adjacent rights.

Muhtaj was calved successful Pakistan aft her household fled their Muslim-majority location state of Afghanistan during that country's 2nd civilian war.

Fifteen years aft the move, she would spell connected to play shot for York University, wherever she became a prima and began her trajectory toward the semi-professional — and yet nonrecreational — ranks of soccer, some successful Canada and abroad.

But she's ever had a ft successful her location country, advocating for women and quality rights portion processing her crippled and her career.

"She's an fantabulous practice of the assemblage and idiosyncratic that's been an ambassador," said Calgary Wild FC CEO Lara Murphy. 

"Part of our question is that we tin observe everyone's perspective, religion, beliefs and worth base. And I deliberation the worth basal for the squad and the Calgary Wild is simply a immense portion of the ethos that we privation to correspond arsenic we determination guardant successful the community."

In 2021, Muhtaj played a relation successful evacuating hundreds of Afghan shot players and their families erstwhile the Taliban again took implicit the state successful August that year. Women became prohibited from participating successful athletics successful the state and banned from being educated beyond Grade 6.

"We speech astir advancement successful women's sport, we ever speech astir advancements successful sex equity and what that means. But we hide to punctual ourselves of the regression astir the world," she said.

"Afghanistan is simply a premier example. I spot myself reflected successful each of those young girls successful the federation close now."