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Shabnam Mobarez's net worth: Afghan women's soccer captain urges FIFA to save her teammates

The Taliban vowed to respect women’s rights, however, many Afghans remain skeptical of this promise - as can be observed from horror stories of thousands of people’s desperate attempts to flee the country

Shabnam Mobarez, the captain of the Afghanistan women's soccer team, has called on FIFA to help “save” her teammates from the Taliban. Earlier this week, the Taliban vowed to respect women’s rights, however, many Afghans remain skeptical of this promise - as can be observed from horror stories of thousands of people’s desperate attempts to flee the country.

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban’s longtime spokesman, promised the fundamentalist group would honor women’s rights within the norms of Islamic law, without elaborating. The Taliban has encouraged women to return to work and has allowed girls to return to school, handing out Islamic headscarves at the door. 

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Women's rights were severely suppressed when the group last ruled the country between 1996 and 2001 before the US-led invasion drove them out of power following 9/11 attack. In that era, Afghan women were not allowed to work, study, or be treated by male doctors unless accompanied by a male chaperone. Punishment for violations of rules was severe. 

Mobarez, 25, who currently resides in the US, has asked the highest governing body of soccer to intervene and save her fellow players. Taking to Twitter, she recalled a conversation with one of her peers. “‘Are you okay’. My teammate in Afghanistan ‘No I am not - I know they will come for me soon, can you help me?’ @FIFAcom how should I answer the question? We must act to save my teammates. They are my sisters?”

Khalida Popal, the former captain of the national soccer team, has urged women players to protect themselves by burning their uniforms and wiping their social media of traces that they ever played sports. "Today I'm calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. Even I'm telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform," Khalida Popal told Reuters in a video interview on August 18.

"That is painful for me, for someone as an activist who stood up and did everything possible to achieve and earn that identity as a women's national team player," Popal said. "To earn that badge on the chest, to have the right to play and represent our country, how much we were proud.”

All of this comes in the wake of the death of a footballer in the country. As per a BBC report, Afghan authorities confirmed that 19-year-old Zaki Anwari, who played for Afghanistan's national youth team, fell to his death after trying to stow away on a US military plane leaving Kabul airport.

Media reports have said that at least two people clinging to a plane’s side fell to their deaths after it took off. In a statement on Facebook, Afghanistan's General Directorate of Physical Education and Sports said, "May he rest in heaven and pray to God for his family, friends, and sports colleagues.”

What is Shabnam Mobarez’s net worth?

Not much is known about her salary, assets, or even endorsement deals. However, as per celebsagewiki.com, Mobarez’s net worth lies in the bracket of $1 million and $5 million. 

Mobarez and her family fled to Denmark three years after her father had fled there to escape the war. As per The Guardian, she was only six at the time. She told the newspaper in a 2018 interview that while she enjoyed playing football, she still feared her parents’ views.

She said, “It’s funny because most footballers’ stories start like this. I started playing with boys from my block, on the street, then a Danish coach was walking by with her dog and said: ‘Hey, I have a club for you, come join.’ I was very afraid in the beginning -- were my parents going to accept it? So I used to go to practices hiding it from my parents but once they were involved they were actually fully supportive.”