In a display of resilience and strength, Zakia Khudadadi has made history by winning the first-ever medal for the Refugee Paralympic Team, securing a bronze in Taekwondo at the Paris 2024 Paralympics. Competing not just for herself but for the women of Afghanistan, Khudadadi’s victory serves as a beacon of hope amid the ongoing oppression they face.
Khudadadi’s journey to the podium began in 2021 when she fled her homeland after the Taliban recaptured Kabul. Forced into hiding, she was unable to train for the Tokyo Paralympics and faced an uncertain future. However, against all odds, she managed to escape Afghanistan and compete in Tokyo, representing the country she had just left behind. Now residing in Paris, Khudadadi told CNN before the Paris Games that she competes with a purpose: to show Afghan women their strength.
“This is a chance to inspire,” Khudadadi shared with CNN. “To show women and girls that they are more than they’re made [to] feel by the Taliban. To show that the women of Afghanistan are strong and can achieve great things.”
Her victory comes at a time when the situation for women in Afghanistan has grown increasingly dire. Just a week before Khudadadi’s triumph, the Taliban imposed new restrictions, banning women’s voices in public and enforcing strict dress codes. According to the Associated Press, these measures are part of a broader crackdown on women’s rights, which Human Rights Watch describes as the most severe women’s rights crisis in the world.
Khudadadi’s words before her historic win echo the gravity of her mission: “This means more to me than I am able to describe. I am competing for a cause bigger than myself. I am here to battle for Afghan women and to show that even in the face of war, we are strong and cannot be silenced.”
Her achievement stands in stark contrast to the experience of another athlete on the Refugee Team, Manizha Talash, who was disqualified from the Olympics for making a political statement. Talash had worn a cape made from a burqa, emblazoned with the words “Free Afghan Women.” Although political statements are banned at the Olympics, Talash defended her choice, stating, “With the fabric of this burqa that represents so much, I want to show the girls back home that even in the most difficult circumstances, they have the strength to transform things. From a burqa they can make wings. If they are in a cocoon, one day soon they can fly.”
Khudadadi is no stranger to breaking barriers. In 2021, she became the first Afghan woman to compete internationally after the Taliban’s return to power, thanks to a viral video plea that captured global attention. In the video, she implored the world to protect her right to compete, saying, “Please, 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 be taken away so easily. I don’t want my struggle to be in vain.”
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