Saturday, August 21, 2021

“They beg for their lives”
Big concern for Afghanistan’s female athletes

Friba Rezai made Afghan sports history when she became the country’s first female Olympic athlete in 2004. Now the judoka and the franchise will have to watch from afar as his country is back in the hands of the Taliban. Not only for his successors, but with dire consequences.

The leader of the Afghan Olympics, Friba Rezai, is also very concerned about the female athletes in her country. “After the Taliban settle down and establish their own government, they will persecute those who speak against them. Women going to school, women going to university and women playing sports,” said Rezayi, a Canadian-based who started judo. As the first woman for Afghanistan at the 2004 Games in Athens in an interview with CNN.

The founder of “Women Leaders of Tomorrow”, an organization that campaigns for women’s rights in Afghanistan, has been in constant contact with women who feared for their lives after the Taliban came to power. “They also send me messages and plead for their lives and their safety. All these human rights and women’s rights activists want to flee the country,” the 35-year-old said. “Recently Afghan female athletes were visiting the dojo (judo training hall). They were held hand in hand. They hugged each other. They were also kissing mats, as it was the last and it was the last day of his freedom.”

Rezai is also working on a project to send Afghan judoka to the 2024 Summer Games in Paris and therefore appealed to international sports federations to support Afghanistan’s athletes. Despite the sad news and TV pictures, Rezai hasn’t given up hope. “My message to Afghan women in Afghanistan is strong. It’s a nightmare, but nightmares don’t last long,” she said. “We will get through this. If nothing else is left, we will become a resistance group. We will fight for our rights no matter what.”