The Girlfriends: Spotlight, E17: Tooba Stumps the Taliban

The Girlfriends: Trust Me Babe

iHeartPodcasts and Novel

True Crime, Society & Culture, Relationships, Documentary

4.4 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 9 March 2026

⏱️ 33 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

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

Transcript

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0:00.0	It's Thursday evening in Herat Province, Afghanistan, August 2021.
0:06.5	Tuber is at home when she hears something outside that makes her blood run cold.
0:15.0	I heard lots of the gum sound.
0:21.6	I asked my mom, mom, what's happened?
0:25.1	Gun sounds, people yelling, chaos.
0:28.4	There's a lot of commotion outside.
0:31.1	She told me, Tuba, the Taliban, take the Herod province.
0:37.6	Everything is under their control.
0:41.2	Herod is gone.
0:43.4	Herat is a major Afghan city, the third largest in the country.
0:48.1	Tuber can't believe that it's all just gone.
0:51.3	Fallen into the hands of the Taliban.
0:55.3	I say, what, mom? It's impossible. We have lots of police officers. We have an army. We have
1:02.9	everything. How it's possible? Tuba runs to her room and messages her friends.
1:09.0	I sent a two-voice message in WhatsApp group,
1:13.7	and I was crying on that voice message.
1:16.7	I said, Herod is gone.
1:19.1	They are going to take cover.
1:20.9	Everything is done, girls.
1:22.8	We are done.
1:24.3	Our dream is like everything is finished.
1:29.3	Eventually, Tuba goes to bed.
	...

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