A female Afghan cyclist who was previously forced to disguise herself as a man to avoid the Taliban and chase her sporting dreams won a silver medal at the Asian Games.
Fariba Hashimi fled from Afghanistan after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and imposed strict measures on women‘s participation in everything from education to sport.
Hashimi said she was forced to take evasive action, disguising herself as a man to avoid being attacked.
On Tuesday, Hashimi finished second in the women’s road race near Nagoya in Japan behind China’s Guo Li, an achievement she described as “something special” and that she hopes will inspire other women in Afghanistan to follow their dreams.
“I can’t explain my feelings right now,” said the 23-year-old.
"I was born inside a country where the women who dream are getting attacked, and I'm really happy that I have fought against that.
"I hope that the next generation will come here and represent their country without any fear."
The Taliban returned to power five years ago and have since imposed a series of rules severely limiting women’s access to education and public life, including sport. “They took away our freedom, they took away everything from us,” Hashim said.
Hashimi followed her sister Yulduz, also an international cyclist, into the sport at the age of 15, despite the danger in their home province, Faryab.
"I always dressed as a man to go to training, wearing two or three different masks so people would not recognise or attack me," Hashimi previously Reuters.
Hashimi said she would have to avoid having stones thrown at her while she was riding her bike.
Now lives and trains in Italy thanks to help from the Italian former world champion Alessandra Cappellotto.
"This silver medal can show a lot of resilience from Afghan women, and I'm really happy," Hashimi said.
"I'm not alone; I know that behind me millions of women, from many countries, have the same dream and they are standing with me."
Hashimi reserved a special thanks for the Japanese team for playing a part in her silver medal. “I’m here without a mechanic, without any preparation. We brought one guy with us from the national federation, and he just drove the car. We were fixing the bike ourselves. I was the mechanic for myself. I was washing the bike myself. Thank you to the Japanese team. They were really, really nice to me, fixed my bike.”
Hashimi and her sister competed at the 2024 Paris Olympics and are now setting their sights on the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
"I never want to give up," Hashimi said, "and hopefully we can see [what can happen] again in Los Angeles."
