Khudadadi to fight for refugee team at Paralympics after escaping Taliban | Paris 2024 Paralympics

ITo make her Paralympic debut three years ago, Afghan taekwondo fighter Zakia Khudadadi had to endure a process that most of us can barely comprehend. She was trapped at home and targeted by the returning Taliban. Only after a desperate video appeal was shared online was she smuggled out of the country on one of the last flights out of Kabul. A few days later, she was competing in Tokyo.

“I think everyone now knows my story and the challenges I had to face,” says Khudadadi today, modestly recounting what she went through. “After the video, I even knew that perhaps no one would come to support me and that it was life-threatening for me. But I accepted this risk: I wanted to be the first girl at the Paralympics.”

Ultimately, Khudadadi achieved her goal. She was able to take part in the first Paralympic Taekwondo tournament in Tokyo, becoming the first Afghan woman to take part in the Games since 2004. But that was far from the end of the story. Khudadadi could neither return home nor hope to represent her country again.

No woman will compete for Afghanistan at the Paralympics this year. As conditions in the country continue to deteriorate, and the United Nations reported this year that the Taliban has now restricted access to work, travel and health care for half the population, female athletes must train in secret, if at all. The Afghan Paralympic Committee will send one athlete, a man, who happens to compete in taekwondo.

But Khudadadi, who currently lives in France, will also be there. She will compete under the flag of the Refugee Paralympic Team in the 47 kg class. “Unfortunately, there were no other girls at the Paralympics before me and at the moment we don't have any,” she says. “But after Tokyo I worked really hard and now it's an honour and an opportunity to play for Paris with the refugee team. I want to send a message to people.”

Khudadadi's life is full of challenges. She is a disabled woman (one arm is still functional) who was forced to leave her home. Added to that are the difficulties that come with being a refugee in the West. “Unfortunately, I had the same experiences as others when I became a refugee myself,” she says. “We need to make people understand that refugees have a right to asylum and that they had to flee their countries because of their situation. We need to make people understand what refugees really go through.”

Like the Olympic Games, the Paris Paralympics will be the third time that a refugee team will compete. This team represents 120 million people displaced worldwide. It will be the largest yet and will consist of eight athletes and two support runners competing in six sports: para-athletics, para-powerlifting, para-table tennis, para-taekwondo, para-triathlon and wheelchair fencing.

Khudadadi is accompanied by veteran RPT competitor Ibrahim Al Hussein. A refugee from Syria, Hussein arrived in Greece a decade ago as one of tens of thousands of people fleeing civil war. He initially competed as a swimmer and was the RPT's flag bearer in Rio. Now, after coming to the not uncommon realization that “I'm getting old and I can't keep up with the new generation in swimming,” he's back to triathlon. He has a unique perspective on the team's growth and the challenges refugees face.

“Carrying the flag was a great moment for me and opened doors for me,” he says. “It was the first step for the refugee teams, it was a glimmer of hope for many Paralympics participants, giving them faith in themselves again. For me, the success was [we can bring about] It's not about medals, it's about changing things and lives. I don't call it a team, I call it a family, and being a part of it has changed my life in a great way.”

Hussein's perspective differs from Khudadadi's. He seems relaxed, as if he is comfortable and experienced in his position; a reminder of how the word “refugee” encompasses so many different people and experiences. Having lived in Greece for 10 years, he says he supports a country that has been on the front lines of a refugee crisis. “With all due respect, I believe every country has the right to defend its borders,” he says. “With all due respect to all refugees, not all of them deserve to be refugees. I understand the Greek government.”

The Paralympics celebrate human achievements, but also diversity. The RPT are an example of this, which gains importance every four years. The team also wants to win medals. Khudadadi won gold at the European Championships last year, and a place on the podium in Paris is not impossible. “I am really happy and ready to represent the refugee team because I am a refugee in France myself,” she says. “I hope we can all win a medal to show how proud we are.”