“Don’t let the Taliban take away my fundamental rights.” To launch his appeal to the world is Zakia Khudadadi, the Afghan Paralympic athlete who cannot leave for Tokyo after the fall of Kabul in the hands of Islamic militias. «I still have faith, please: help me to participate. It is my dream, I fought for 5 years to get to where I am ”, the words of the taekwondo fighter, reported by the head of the delegation of the Afghan Paralympic Committee, Arian Sadiqi.
Sadiqi continues: «This would have been the first Paralympics with an Afghan taekwondo athlete as a participant. Zakia Khudadadi was about to make history, she was happy to compete in the Games, just like the athlete Hossain Rasouli. It is truly disconcerting what is happening: it would have been a great achievement for Afghanistan and Zakia would have been a role model for all the women in the country. Twenty years ago, in the period of Taliban power, you could not participate in competitions, especially women. Now everything is unpredictable. I can only think the same thing will happen in the future. It will be difficult especially for minorities: there had been a lot of progress, now we will go back. People will be scared, they will be afraid to be seen, to participate. Zakia is terrified of leaving the house. Our appeal is to any country that is able to help our two athletes and the coaches to arrive in Tokyo ».