RASC News Agency: Zakia Khodadadi, a para-taekwondo athlete from Afghanistan, has recently been awarded the “Emerging Leader” prize by the International Paralympic Committee on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2025. According to reports, the International Paralympic Committee announced the winners of its 2025 International Women’s Day awards yesterday Saturday, March 22. Among the awardees was Zakia from Afghanistani, who won the Emerging Leader award for her advocacy of women’s rights, particularly the right to participate in sports. The committee also named Penny Briscoe as the winner in the Leadership category and the Iranian Paralympic Committee as the winner in the Membership category.
Zakia Khodadadi expressed her gratitude after receiving the award, stating: “I am deeply honored to be chosen as an Emerging Leader in the 2025 International Women’s Day awards by the International Paralympic Committee. This is a great honor for me and for the women of Afghanistani.” She emphasized that women in Afghanistani are enduring immense hardships under the Taliban’s rule, yet they continue to stand tall in defiance. She added, “It feels like I’m living a dream, but it is a reality. The women of Afghanistani are courageously standing against oppression, demanding freedom not as a wish, but as an undeniable right. Their voices cannot be silenced because these voices come from hearts that beat for a brighter future.”
Zakia, who resides in France, was the first female athlete from Afghanistani to participate in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. Prior to this, she earned numerous awards in international competitions, all of which she dedicated to the women of Afghanistani.
