Fariba Hashemi, an Afghan cyclist who will represent Afghanistan at the 2024 Paris Olympics, says she is doing her utmost to achieve a good result and to represent the 20 million women of Afghanistan in this global competition.
According to a report by France-Press, Fariba Hashemi and Youldoz Hashemi will raise the flag of a fallen country at the Paris Olympics. Fariba Hashemi is one of six representatives from Afghanistan in cycling at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The report states that the selection of the six-member team, which includes three men and three women, is a deliberate display of equality in response to the current government’s strong opposition to women’s participation in professional sports since it regained power in 2021.
Youldoz and Fariba were in Kabul during the fall of Afghanistan and, with the help of world champion Italian cyclist Alessandra Cappelluto, managed to escape the besieged city with a few other cyclists.
Fariba Hashemi expresses her astonishment at the return of the current regime. She emphasized, “When the Taliban took power in my country, I was in Afghanistan. After three or four days, they took control of all of Afghanistan. I was not only worried about myself; I was worried about my people, worried about everything. Because the first time they came to my country [in 1996], they stopped everything for women—everything: school, sports. What was left for women? They closed everything.”
Fariba hopes that her performance at the Paris Olympics, or even her presence there, will help combat the notion that women and girls have no place in the world of professional sports. This Afghan cyclist stressed, “You can change this mindset together.”
She aims to demonstrate that cycling is a good activity that everyone can participate in. This sport is not just for men; it is also for women and girls.
It is worth noting that the Hashemi sisters are representing Afghanistan while the current government has imposed many restrictions on the fundamental freedoms of women and girls since taking power, including a ban on girls’ sports.
