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A senior Taliban official stated after the August 15 takeover that ladies would most likely not be allowed to play sport as a result of it was “not necessary” and their our bodies may be uncovered
Leaving her homeland Afghanistan was painful, says 15-year-old Sarah. But now safely in Portugal, she hopes to pursue her dream of enjoying soccer professionally – and maybe assembly her idol, star striker Cristiano Ronaldo.
Sarah was one among a number of gamers from Afghanistan’s nationwide feminine youth soccer squad who fled their nation in worry after the Taliban hardline Islamist motion seized energy in August.
Portugal has granted asylum to the younger footballers.
“I’m free,” she stated, smiling from ear-to-ear as she visited Lisbon’s landmark Belem Tower on the River Tagus along with her mom and teammates.
“My dream is to be a good player like Ronaldo – and I want to be a big business woman here in Portugal,” she stated.
She hoped to return residence sooner or later however provided that she will stay freely.
Her mom, who requested that Reuters didn’t use their surname, had skilled first-hand a earlier period of Taliban rule from 1996 to 2001. She is much less optimistic they are going to ever have the ability to return.
Taliban leaders have promised to respect ladies’s rights however below their first authorities, ladies couldn’t work and ladies had been banned from college. Women needed to cowl their faces and be accompanied by a male family member once they left residence.
A senior Taliban official stated after the August 15 takeover that ladies would most likely not be allowed to play sport as a result of it was “not necessary” and their our bodies may be uncovered.
“The reason we took on this mission (to evacuate the team) was to ensure they can aspire and play the sport they love,” stated Farkhunda Muhtaj, captain of the Afghanistan ladies’s senior nationwide workforce, who flew to Lisbon on Wednesday to shock the youth workforce gamers.
From her residence in Canada, the place she works as assistant soccer coach at an area college, Muhtaj has been in contact with the women all through the evacuation course of, codenamed ‘Operation Soccer Balls’. It managed to rescue a complete of 80 individuals – the feminine youth workforce and members of the family, together with infants.
They landed in Portugal on September 19.
When Muhtaj confirmed up on Wednesday evening, the women had been ecstatic. They hugged. Some couldn’t maintain again the tears.
“They been through so much, so many challenges,” Muhtaj stated. “They were just resilient and they were able to make it happen.”
One relative, 25-year-old Zaki Rasa, recalled the chaos on the Kabul airport, the place he spent three anguished days. He is now delighted to be in Portugal and needs to proceed his research.
“There is some uncertainty about the future,” he stated. “The important thing is that we are safe.”
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