Table Tennis: Helping to Break Down Barriers in Afghanistan
By Steve Dainton

Representing the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) in March, I made a visit to Afghanistan to assist in the rebuilding of sport and, in particular, table tennis. The visit included a table tennis coaching course, training of the national table tennis team and technical assistance to many of the other sporting federations that are once again trying to rebuild from scratch. A large equipment package was donated by Butterfly, a table tennis manufacturer; and with the support of the International Olympic Committee, it was the first sporting visit of its kind for Afghanistan.
In Kabul, the capital of Afghanistan, there is non-stop activity. Recovering from a 20-year period that most people would rather forget, the city is now all hustle and bustle as people start making the most of the new life. However, nothing is easy; there are still hundreds of shattered buildings, peacekeepers roaming the streets, hundreds of street children, extreme poverty and barriers that make life difficult for the majority of the people. Women still face the toughest barriers, but there are signs of change here in the capital, and the ITTF coaching course we have run here in Kabul is evidence.
In line with the ITTF women’s movement we insisted that we would also like a women’s course and/or women included in a mixed course. We had little hope of the latter, but to my surprise, the liberal men who run the table tennis federation in Kabul invited the women to a mixed course. So the coaching course in Kabul was an extremely successful course where the men at times even went out of their way to help the women. This was an unprecedented first for sport in Afghanistan and proof that table tennis can help to break down social barriers. Since the time of the Taliban, women and men had not participated together in a sporting activity.
After leaving Afghanistan, I had many doubts about the potential for table tennis to develop. However, it’s six months later, and I am more and more optimistic. I am in regular contact with the Afghanistan federation, and there is plenty of activity. The men are participating in many regional events, and I am often informed about their local competitions and training.
I had wondered and often queried the federation about the women’s/girls’ table tennis activities without much response. I had often wondered if their attendance during our coaching course was a façade and if there would be any activity once I left. Then just last week, I received some photos showing the ceremony for Afghanistan Table Tennis Federation’s inaugural women’s competition.[pic1]
To know the difficulties women faced under the Taliban regime and to now see smiling faces of women and girls once again being involved in community activities is an amazing thing. To know that table tennis is one of the vehicles to help bring about this positive social change is an amazing thing. Most amazingly though is to see some of the initiatives already being implemented by the Afghanistan Table Tennis Federation and to see obvious progress and development being made for both men and women.
The ITTF is well known for its humanitarian approach and once again it is leading the way in Afghanistan sport. With the help of Butterfly and the IOC, there have been positive changes for women and in the Afghanistan climate this is a remarkable achievement.