Amid Taliban takeover, Afghan woman begs to participate in Paralympic Games

The Afghanistan Paralympics Committee said the athlete could no longer participate in the Tokyo paralympics due to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.

News Agency of Nigeria • August 18, 2021

Zakia Khudadadi

Afghan athlete Zakia Khudadadi says she feels imprisoned after the country’s paralympic committee says there was no chance for her and another female athlete to participate at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Ms Khadadadi was billed to become her country’s first female competitor at a Paralympic Games which start on August 24.

“I request from you all, that I am an Afghan woman and as a representative of Afghan women ask for you to help me,” Ms Khudadadi, a para-taekwando athlete, said in a video spoken in local language Farsi translated by Reuters.

“My intention is to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, please hold my hand and help me.

“I urge you all, from the women around the globe, institutions for the protection of women, from all government organisations, to not let the rights of a female citizen of Afghanistan in the Paralympic Movement to be taken away so easily.

“The fact that we ourselves have lifted ourselves from this situation, that we have achieved so much, it cannot be taken lightly. I have suffered a lot, I don’t want my struggle to be in vain and without any results. Help me.”

In the video provided to Reuters on Tuesday by the Afghanistan Paralympics Committee’s (APC) London-based Chef de Mission Arian Sadiqi, the athlete said she felt “imprisoned”.

But the APC had said on Monday the country’s two para-athletes would not be at the Games due to the turmoil in the country following the Taliban’s takeover.

Ms Khudadadi said she had been staying with extended family but unable to go outside with confidence to train, shop or check on others.

She also feels an additional burden to her relations who did not have enough food to feed their own children.

The 23-year-old Khudadadi and track athlete Hossain Rasouli had been scheduled to arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday but were unable to fly out.

The insurgents have overrun major cities and now control most of Afghanistan.

The Taliban had told reporters at their first official news conference in Kabul on Tuesday that they would respect the rights of women within the framework of Islamic law.

The news conference came as the U.S. and Western allies evacuated diplomats and civilians.

This followed scenes of chaos at Kabul airport as Afghans desperate to flee the Taliban descended on the terminal.

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