Meet the defiant Afghan athletes vowing to fight the Taliban’s ban on women’s sports
- Friba Rezayee was physically abused for being Afghanistan’s first female Olympian; Meena Asadi fled her karate club when extremists threatened her life; Marwa Ali remains in Kabul unable to leave her home, attend school, or play football
- In the face of oppression, these women are determined to keep their sports alive
Even so, the progress was only gradual; Afghanistan has sent 23 athletes to the Games since then, yet only four have been women.
Now, the Taliban’s return to power following the American withdrawal this summer threatens to put an end to what little progress has been made.
On September 8, the Taliban’s cultural commission official Ahmadullah Wasiq announced a ban on women’s sports, deeming their participation “not necessary”.
Afghanistan’s new sports chief Bashir Ahmad Rustamzai appeared to tacitly support this stance on September 15, when he declined to confirm whether women would still be able to participate in the 400 sports that comply with sharia law.
Amid protests in Kabul demanding women’s rights to education and work, many women athletes have fled for their lives, while others have stayed in the hope of reform.
Here are some of their stories, in their own words:
