Zakia Khudadadi's dream to be Afghanistan’s first female Paralympian crushed by Taliban takeover

Zakia Khudadadi's Paralympics dream has ended, after Afghanistan's two-member squad was unable to leave Kabul as a result of the Taliban takeover of the country.

Zakia Khudadadi was set to become the country’s first female Paralympian. The taekwondo athlete and discus thrower Hossain Rasouli could not take their scheduled flight out of Afghanistan.

The Afghan chef de mission, Arian Sadiqi, said Khudadadi and Rasouli were slated to land in Tokyo on Tuesday.

“Unfortunately due to the current upheaval going on in Afghanistan the team could not leave Kabul in time,” he told Reuters.

Sadiqi added that the athletes had been trying to book flights, but it became impossible after prices soared as the Taliban took over most of the country.

“They were really excited before the situation. They were training wherever they could, in the parks and back gardens,” Sadiqi said.

He added:

“This was history in the making. Zakia Khudadadi was very passionate about competing. Zakia would have been a great role model for the rest of the females in the country”.

Who is Zakia Khudadadi?

Zakia Khudadadi came into spotlight as an 18-year-old after she won the first African Para-Taekwondo Championships in Egypt in 2016. The post-Taliban regime, in which Khudadadi was born with a disability, had broken conservative stereotypes. It was a place where men and women, interacting professionally or for sports was no longer labeled as taboo.

“I was thrilled after I received the news that I have got a wild card to compete at the Games. This is the first time that a female athlete was representing Afghanistan at the Games and I was so happy,” the 23-year-old was quoted by Paralympics.

The Afghan athlete took up the sport after watching her compatriot Rohullah Nikpai create history by winning bronze at the Beijing and London Paralympics.

Khudadadi was supposed to compete in the K44 category.