On August 15, 2021, the reality of Afghanistan changed completely. The religious movement and military organization of the Taliban took control of Kabul, the Afghan capital, causing a severe humanitarian crisis. Although the Taliban initially claimed that women’s rights and freedoms, such as studying and working, would be maintained under sharia (Islamic legal system), the reality is that women have been systematically excluded from public life. This regime has caused thousands of people to flee, including many athletes who represented Afghanistan in international competitions.

In 1999, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suspended the National Olympic Confederation (NOC) of Afghanistan and reinstated them in 2001 after the fall of the Taliban. Today the story is different, the Afghan NOC was not dismissed and the IOC gives all possible financial support to some athletes from that country and Afghanistan has announced that it will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games with a team without Taliban and with balance in the genres.

IOC spokesman Mark Adams said: “We made it clear that we wanted a gender-balanced team. That was the demand and that is what we have achieved. “The clear idea is that we want to bring Afghan athletes and a gender-balanced team to Paris because of the demonstration it gives to the world.”

DOORS CLOSED TO THE TALIBAN

The Taliban regime has not been recognized by any country since it took power, so delegates from Afghanistan will compete under its black, red and green flag. Although the Afghan NOC has been coordinating with the Taliban sports authorities, the IOC closed the doors for Taliban athletes to be present at Paris 2024: “No representative of the de facto authorities, the Taliban government, will be accredited for the 2024 Olympic Games.” .

The identity of the athletes has not yet been revealed, but it is known what they will compete in. Women will compete in athletics and cycling while their male counterparts will compete in athletics, swimming and judo. In addition, Afghanistan will have representatives on the Refugee Olympic Team, led by Masomah Ali Zada, a road cyclist who already competed in Tokyo 2020 on the same team.

The United Nations has condemned the acts that the Taliban regime imposed almost two years ago in Afghanistan, actions that have changed the lives of thousands of people, especially women, who have seen, in many cases, how Their present and future is paralyzed by an oppressive mandate.