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Afghanistan's Undercover Athletes: Sportswomen Pose For Portraits Amid Taliban Threats

Since taking power in August 2021, the Taliban has banned sports for Afghan female athletes as part of an escalating campaign of restrictions that have hindered daily life for women.

Fearing reprisals, these women posed for portraits in their burqas with the equipment of the sports they love but are officially banned from participating in.

An Afghan women's soccer team poses for a portrait in Kabul. Women and girls must conceal their identities with burqas -- the all-encompassing robes and hood that completely cover their faces, leaving only a mesh to see through -- as they face intimidation, threats, and, in some cases, beatings from their own family members for playing sports.
1 An Afghan women's soccer team poses for a portrait in Kabul. Women and girls must conceal their identities with burqas -- the all-encompassing robes and hood that completely cover their faces, leaving only a mesh to see through -- as they face intimidation, threats, and, in some cases, beatings from their own family members for playing sports.
An Afghan mixed-martial arts fighter with her trophies in Kabul. One young woman who endured beatings from her mother and jeers from her neighbors has been left shattered. "I'm not the same person anymore," she said. "Since the Taliban came, I feel like I'm dead."
2 An Afghan mixed-martial arts fighter with her trophies in Kabul.

One young woman who endured beatings from her mother and jeers from her neighbors has been left shattered. "I'm not the same person anymore," she said. "Since the Taliban came, I feel like I'm dead."
An Afghan girl practices taekwondo in Kabul.  
3 An Afghan girl practices taekwondo in Kabul.


 
Portrait of an Afghan woman practices Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, in Kabul. Another woman, Sarina, 20, a mixed-martial artist, recalled how, in August 2021, she was competing in a local women’s tournament at a Kabul sports hall. Word spread through the audience and participants that advancing Taliban fighters were on the city’s outskirts. All the women and girls fled the hall. It was the last competition she ever played in.
4 Portrait of an Afghan woman practices Muay Thai, or Thai boxing, in Kabul.

Another woman, Sarina, 20, a mixed-martial artist, recalled how, in August 2021, she was competing in a local women’s tournament at a Kabul sports hall. Word spread through the audience and participants that advancing Taliban fighters were on the city’s outskirts. All the women and girls fled the hall. It was the last competition she ever played in.
A female Afghan boxer in Kabul. The Taliban has also intimidated and harassed those who formerly played, often scaring them from even practicing in private.
5 A female Afghan boxer in Kabul.

The Taliban has also intimidated and harassed those who formerly played, often scaring them from even practicing in private.
An Afghan girl with her skateboard in Kabul. Under the Taliban, girls are barred from attending middle and high school. Last month, they ordered all women thrown out of universities, as well.
6 An Afghan girl with her skateboard in Kabul.

Under the Taliban, girls are barred from attending middle and high school. Last month, they ordered all women thrown out of universities, as well.
An Afghan woman who practices jiujitsu, a Japanese martial art, poses in Kabul with a sledgehammer she uses for strength exercises. The Taliban authorities have repeatedly promised to allow girls in seventh grade and up to return to school but have not honored their promises.
7 An Afghan woman who practices jiujitsu, a Japanese martial art, poses in Kabul with a sledgehammer she uses for strength exercises.

The Taliban authorities have repeatedly promised to allow girls in seventh grade and up to return to school but have not honored their promises.
An Afghan woman with her racing bicycle in Kabul. The Taliban has also forbidden women from visiting parks or gyms and demands that they cover their faces and hair while they are out in public. They have also severely restricted women's capacity to work outside the home. Most recently, they banned women from working for nongovernmental organizations.
8 An Afghan woman with her racing bicycle in Kabul.

The Taliban has also forbidden women from visiting parks or gyms and demands that they cover their faces and hair while they are out in public. They have also severely restricted women's capacity to work outside the home. Most recently, they banned women from working for nongovernmental organizations.
Afghan girls in Kabul practicing wushu, a Chinese martial art. Even before the Taliban took power, many in Afghanistan's deeply conservative society opposed women's sports as an insult to women's modesty and their standing in society.
9 Afghan girls in Kabul practicing wushu, a Chinese martial art.

Even before the Taliban took power, many in Afghanistan's deeply conservative society opposed women's sports as an insult to women's modesty and their standing in society.
An Afghan female cricketer in Kabul. A spokesman for the Taliban’s Sports Organization and National Olympic Committee said authorities were looking for a way to restart sports for women by building separate sports venues. But he gave no time frame and said funds were needed to do so.
10 An Afghan female cricketer in Kabul.

A spokesman for the Taliban’s Sports Organization and National Olympic Committee said authorities were looking for a way to restart sports for women by building separate sports venues. But he gave no time frame and said funds were needed to do so.
An Afghan woman volleyball player in Kabul. Another woman recounts that, on the day the Taliban entered Kabul, her coach called her mother and urged her to take her daughter out of the country. But her mother refused to deliver the message because she didn't want her daughter to leave. When she learned of the message, she cut her wrists and had to be taken to the hospital.  “The world had become dark for me,” she said.
11 An Afghan woman volleyball player in Kabul.

Another woman recounts that, on the day the Taliban entered Kabul, her coach called her mother and urged her to take her daughter out of the country. But her mother refused to deliver the message because she didn't want her daughter to leave. When she learned of the message, she cut her wrists and had to be taken to the hospital. 

“The world had become dark for me,” she said.
An Afghan woman basketball player in Kabul.  
12 An Afghan woman basketball player in Kabul.

 
Afghan women practicing Muay Thai. Another female athlete said: “Even if my life was difficult, I used to have confidence in myself and knew that, with effort, I could do what I wanted. Now I don’t have much hope anymore.”
13 Afghan women practicing Muay Thai.

Another female athlete said: “Even if my life was difficult, I used to have confidence in myself and knew that, with effort, I could do what I wanted. Now I don’t have much hope anymore.”
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