In the cutthroat world of sport, Afghan Taekwondo champion Marzieh Hamidi faces death threats and online attacks for daring to criticize her country’s men’s cricket team. In exile in France, where she enjoys police protection, Hamidi bravely fights for the rights of Afghan women, condemned to oblivion and the suppression of their identity by the Taliban regime.
Hamidi’s courage is shared by other Afghan athletes such as Manizha Talash, disqualified from the Paris Olympics for demanding freedom for Afghan women during a breakdancing competition. Kimia Yousofi, her country’s flag bearer at the Tokyo Games, also denounced the plight of Afghan women by carrying a message on education and women’s rights.
While Afghan men are able to compete on the international stage, women are banned from sports and forced into exile to represent refugee teams. Hamidi says the Afghan men’s cricket team does not represent Afghan women, and she calls for Afghan sports teams to be banned from the Olympics, similar to the sanctions imposed on South Africa during apartheid.
With the Taliban taking over Afghanistan, women’s rights are being systematically eviscerated, relegating them to a status of inferiority and non-existence. Despite this grim reality, Afghan men’s sports teams continue to shine, including the immensely popular national cricket team.
However, the courageous voices of Marzieh Hamidi and other female athletes shine a light on gender apartheid in Afghanistan, an officially unrecognized crime against humanity. Their fight for the human rights of Afghan women resonates globally, calling for concrete action to end this injustice.
In conclusion, Marzieh Hamidi and her fellow Afghan athletes are braving threats and pressure to give a voice to those who are silenced. Their fight for equality and dignity for Afghan women is a call for international unity and solidarity to end the gender apartheid that persists in their country.
Thus, the courage, determination and resilience of these Afghan female athletes highlight the urgent need to recognize and support women’s rights everywhere, and to act against all forms of oppression and injustice.