Afghan karate champion: ‘Everything is finished’ for female athletes

Afghan karate champion Meena Asadi says she believes the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan means the end of women’s sports for the country.

“Everything is finished for women athletes,” Meena, who represented Afghanistan at the South Asian Karate Championship in 2012 and won two silver medals, told Reuters.

“All the achievement and values are destroyed, and this would be a dark moment for the people, especially for women and girls,” she added.

Meena left Afghanistan at the age of 12 but returned after representing Afghanistan in the 2010 South Asian Games. She later fled Kabul with her husband and 1-year-old daughter due to violence, according to Reuters.

Although the Taliban have claimed they will be more tolerant toward women, many have raised doubts.

When the Taliban ruled the country back in the 1990s, women were not allowed to get an education or leave their house without a male escorting them.

“They are the extremist party, and they don’t believe in human rights or rights of women,” Meena told Reuters.

“I feel miserable. I lost my hope and the people of my country lost their hope, too,” she added.

Other female athletes from Afghanistan have also spoken out following the Taliban’s takeover, voicing concerns about the safety of fellow athletes.

Khalida Popal, former captain of the Afghan women’s national soccer team, said in an interview with Reuters that she had urged others to delete their information from social media.

“Today I’m calling them and telling them, take down their names, remove their identities, take down their photos for their safety. Even I’m telling them to burn down or get rid of your national team uniform,” she said.

Kimia Yousefi, an Afghan female sprinter who held the country’s flag during the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics last month, wrote on social media on Sunday that the country was “cruelly” left to suffer under the Taliban, The Washington Post reported.  

“My intention is to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, please hold my hand and help me,” para-taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi told Reuters. “I urge you all, from the women around the globe, institutions for the protection of women, from all government organisations, to not let the rights of a female citizen of Afghanistan in the Paralympic movement to be taken away so easily.”