Afghan cyclists (L to R) Yuldoz Hashimi, second place; winner Fariba Hashimi; and Zahra Rezayee, third place, pose on the podium of the 2022 women’s road cycling championships of Afghanistan in Aigle, Switzerland, on Oct. 23, 2022. In 2024, the sisters Yuldoz and Fariba Hashimi will be competing as Afghanistan’s first-ever representatives for cycling in the Olympics. (Valentin Flauraud / AFP via Getty Images) |
BY PIPER DUNCAN | In September 2021—less than a month after the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan—the Taliban banned women and girls from participating in sports.
Three women and three men will represent Afghanistan in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics, yet the Taliban has refused to acknowledge the female Afghan athletes playing for their home country.
Kimia Yousofi, one the three Afghan women Olympians, said she will be representing the “stolen dreams and aspirations” of women still under the Taliban’s gender apartheid.
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