RASC News Agency: Zakia Khudadadi, an Afghanistani para-taekwondo athlete and member of the Refugee Team, has emerged victorious against Cuba’s Rodriguez Rivero in the Paris Paralympic Games. Khudadadi’s victory comes at a time when girls in her homeland are barred from attending schools and universities, and under the Taliban’s new decree, even their voices are deemed ‘awrah’ a term used to denote something that must be concealed.
The French Taekwondo Federation announced that on Thursday, August 29, Zakia Khudadadi competed in the under 47 kg weight category, where she defeated Rodriguez Rivero with a score of 21-11. Her victory stands as a symbol of resistance against the oppressive Taliban regime. With this win, Khudadadi has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Paris Paralympic Games in para-taekwondo.
It is worth noting that Zakia Khudadadi fled to France after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan and currently resides there. In 2023, she was crowned the European Para-Taekwondo Champion. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan, girls are deprived of the right to education, work, and even basic freedoms. The latest decree from the Taliban leader explicitly categorizes women’s voices as ‘awrah,’ urging women to stay indoors unless absolutely necessary.
This Taliban law, which has drawn widespread condemnation from Afghanistani women and the international community, unequivocally asserts that women’s voices are to be concealed. Many have criticized the enactment of this law as a mistake, calling it misleading and baseless, with some even declaring it un-Islamic and primitive. Afghanistani athletes, too, have denounced this law as illegitimate.
