Afghan female cyclist wins silver at Asian Games after disguising herself as a man to train
Fariba Hashimi, an Afghan female cyclist, won a silver medal at the Asian Games, an achievement made possible only by her disguising herself as a man to train in Afghanistan. She fled her country in 2021 to pursue her dream and now hopes to inspire other Afghan women and see a future where women can freely participate in sports.
Why it matters
This story highlights the severe human rights restrictions faced by women in Afghanistan under the Taliban, particularly in sports, and showcases individual resilience and the global platform of international competitions to bring attention to these issues.
The easy part for Fariba Hashimi was winning a silver medal in the women's cycling road race at the Asian Games.
The nearly impossible part for the female cyclist from Afghanistan was trying to train in her country. To do that, she dressed as a man in a place where women have few rights. “All the time when I was going to training,” she said, “I was dressing as a guy.” She said she also hid her face when she could in order to not be recognised.
Aslo Read: UN experts condemn crackdown on women by Afghan morality police
“Because sometimes when they recognised me, they were trying to throw stones or hitting me," she said.
Hashimi won silver Tuesday in a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes, 5 seconds, which marked another leg in a journey that began in 2021 when she left Afghanistan.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in