Zakia Khudadadi became the first Paralympic Refugee Team medallist on Thursday when she won bronze in women's taekwondo.
The medal marks an important milestone in Khudadadi's long and tortuous story, a tale that began when he was born without a forearm and included an escape from Taliban-controlled Afghanistan years ago.
Shortly after defeating Turkey's Ekinci Nurcihan in the women's -47 bronze medal match, Khudadadi threw her helmet and mouthguard into the air.
“It was a surreal moment, my heart started racing when I realised I had won bronze,” she said after the match.
“I've been through a lot to get here,” the 25-year-old added. “This medal is for all the women of Afghanistan and for all the refugees in the world. I hope that one day there will be peace in my country.”
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Zakia Khudadadi of the Refugee Paralympic Team, left, competes against Ziyodakhon Isakova of Team Uzbekistan during the women's 47kg quarterfinals of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Grand Palais on August 29, 2024 in Paris. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
Khudadadi last competed at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 for her home country of Afghanistan. However, Afghanistan did not send any female athletes to the Paralympics this year. The United Nations reported this year that the Taliban are restricting access to work, travel and healthcare for much of the country's female population. Most of the country's female athletes must practice in secret, if they can at all, according to multiple reports.
During the US military’s withdrawal from Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, the Taliban began to regain control of the country and Khudadadi realised that her desire to participate in Paralympic taekwondo competitions would not be tolerated under the Islamic law that was being re-enforced. During their rule from 1996 to 2001, also guided by Islamic law, the Taliban banned women from working, let alone competing in a combat sport. Girls were not allowed to go to school and women had to wear wraparound burqas when going outside and only when accompanied by a male relative.
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Bronze medallist Zakia Khudadadi of the Refugee Paralympic Team poses during the medal ceremony after the women's Para Taekwondo K44 -47kg final on day one of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at Grand Palais on August 29, 2024 in Paris. (Mustafa Yalcin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Then, just days before the start of the Tokyo Paralympics, she made a plea in a video that went viral on the Internet, begging the international community to help her escape Afghanistan.
It worked.
She was smuggled out of the country by unidentified actors and then put on a flight to Tokyo, where she was allowed to compete for her native Afghanistan. She famously wore a white hijab to the opening match of the combat sport's Paralympic debut. She did not win a medal, but became the first Afghan woman to compete at the Games since 2004 and the second since 1960.
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Zakia Khudadadi of the Refugee Paralympic Team, left, celebrates after winning the women's taekwondo K44 -47kg repechage competition on day one of the Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games at the Grand Palais on August 29, 2024 in Paris. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)
After that, she never returned to Afghanistan or competed for her country at this year's Paralympics. Instead, she moved to France, where she trained for the Paris Games, and her training paid off with her first Paralympic medal. On Thursday, French spectators in Paris cheered her on.
“This medal is fantastic for me, but also for all the women of Afghanistan and all the refugees,” she said in French. “We will not give up equality and freedom in my country.”
Khudadadi says she also plans to compete at the 2028 Paralympic Games in Los Angeles.
“I want to give this medal to everyone. I hope that one day there will be freedom in my country, for everyone, for all girls, for all women, for all refugees in the world,” she said. “And that we all work for that, for freedom and equality.”
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