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Kabul, Afghanistan — Noura’s determination to play sports was so great that she defied her family’s opposition for years. Beatings from her mother and ridicule from her neighbors never stopped her from her favorite sport.
But the 20-year-old Afghan woman was unable to defy her country’s Taliban rulers. Not only did they ban all sports for women and girls, but they also actively threatened and harassed those who used to play them, and even scared them to practice in private.
Noura remains shattered. “I’m not the same person anymore,” she said. “Since the Taliban came, I feel dead.”
Many girls and women who once played various sports told the Associated Press that the Taliban had threatened them with visits and phone calls and warned them not to engage in sports. He spoke on condition of anonymity out of fear.
They shot portraits for AP photographers using the sports equipment they loved. They used a full-body robe called a burqa and a hood that completely covered their face, leaving only the mesh visible to conceal their identity. They didn’t usually wear burqas, but now they wear them occasionally when they go out, stating that they want to remain anonymous and avoid harassment.
The sports ban is part of the Taliban’s escalating campaign of restrictions that has closed the lives of girls and women.
Since occupying Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from attending middle and high school. Last month they ordered all women to be expelled from universities.
The Taliban requires women to cover their hair and faces in public and forbids them from going to parks and gyms. They severely limit the ability of women to work outside the home and have recently banned non-governmental organizations from hiring women.
Even before the Taliban, women’s sport was seen as a violation of women’s humility and the role of women in society and was opposed by much of Afghanistan’s highly conservative society. The previous government had programs to encourage women’s sports and school clubs, leagues and varsity teams for women in many sports.
The 20-year-old mixed martial artist recalled competing in a local women’s tournament in Kabul’s Sports Hall in August 2021. Rumors circulated among the audience and participants that an ongoing Taliban presence was on the outskirts of the city. All women and girls fled the hall. It was the last competition Sarina competed in.
A few months later, she tried to give the girls private lessons. However, Taliban fighters stormed the gym where they were practicing and arrested them all. They were ridiculed and ridiculed, Salina said. After mediation by their elders, they were released on the promise that they would no longer play sports.
She still practices at home and occasionally teaches to close friends.
“Life has become very difficult for me, but I am a fighter, so I will live and keep fighting,” she said.
Mushwanay, a spokesman for the Taliban’s sports organization and the National Olympic Committee, said authorities were looking for ways to resume sports for women by building separate sports venues. However, he did not specify a time frame and said he needed funds to do so. I’ve done it, but haven’t run it yet.
Noura faced lifelong resistance as he tried to play sports.
Raised in the impoverished Kabul district by parents who migrated from the countryside, Noura started playing football with local boys in the streets. When she was nine years old, her coach found her and with his encouragement she joined her women’s youth team.
She kept it a secret from everyone but her father, but her cover was blown by her own talent. ‘s photo and name were broadcast on television.
“All over the world, when a girl is famous and her picture is on TV, it’s a good day for her and she’s on top of happiness,” she said. “For me, that day was very difficult and the beginning of my worst days.”
Enraged, her mother beat her while yelling that she was not allowed to play football. She continued to play in secret, but was exposed again when her team won the national championship, and her photo made the news.
Still, she snuck up to the awards ceremony. She cried on stage as the audience cheered. “Only I knew you were crying because of your loneliness and hard life,” she said.
When she came to her senses, her mother set her soccer uniform and shoes on fire.
Noura quit soccer, but then turned to boxing. Her mother, she said, realized that nothing could stop her from her sport and she ultimately relented.
The day the Taliban entered Kabul, her coach called her mother and she said Noura should go to the airport to be taken out of the country. Ms. Noura said she didn’t deliver the message because her mother didn’t want her to leave. When she learned of the message, it was too late to escape, Noura had to cut her wrists and take her to the hospital.
“The world was getting darker for me,” she said.
Three months later, someone claiming to be a member of the Taliban called her family and threatened her. “They were like, why did you play sports? Sports are banned,” she recalled.
Terrified, she left Kabul, disguised herself as a burqa, and traveled to her family’s homeland. Eventually, she returned, but she remains terrified.
“Even though life was hard, I had confidence in myself and knew that if I worked hard, I could do what I wanted,” she said. “Now I don’t have much hope.”
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