Photo: BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP via Getty
The 23-year-old taekwondo fighter would have been the first female athlete in Afghanistan’s history to compete at the Paralympics, but her dreams are now on pause after theTalibanclaimed near-complete control of the country last week.
“Unfortunately due to the current upheaval going on in Afghanistan the team could not leave Kabul in time,” Afghanistan Paralympic Committee’s London-based Chef de Mission Arian Sadiqi told the outlet, adding that plane ticket prices increased in recent days as residents tried to flee the country.
The Paralympics are set to begin in Tokyo on Aug. 24 and will last until Sept. 5 following the conclusion of the Olympics earlier this month.
“They were really excited prior to the situation. They were training wherever they could, in the parks and back gardens,” Sadiqi said of Khudadadi and Rasouli. “This would have been the first female Afghan taekwondo player to take part.”
“This was history in the making,” he said. “She was very passionate to compete. Zakia would have been a great role model for the rest of the females in the country.”
In an interview withReuters, Khudadadi asked for help from the international community.
“I urge you all, from the women around the globe, institutions for the protection of women, from all government organizations, to not let the rights of a female citizen of Afghanistan in the Paralympic movement to be taken away so easily,” Khudadadi added.
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Since the Taliban’s rise to power following the withdrawal of U.S. troops in the country, there has been increased concern abouthow the group will treat women, considering their history of abuse.
According to theAssociated Press, the Taliban — who ruled Afghanistan in the 1990s — enforced a strict form of Islamic rule, which saw them impose severe restrictions and hold pubic executions of women.
“The fact that we ourselves have lifted ourselves from this situation, that we have achieved so much, it cannot be taken lightly,” Khudadadi told Reuters. “I have suffered a lot, I don’t want my struggle to be in vain and without any results. Help me.”
source: people.com
