Taliban escapee with 1 arm wins taekwondo medal at Paralympics for refugee team

Zakia Khudadadi became the first-ever Refugee Paralympic Team medalist on Thursday when she won bronze in women's taekwondo.

The medal marks a major milestone in the long and winding story of Khudadadi – a story that began when she 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 category bronze medal match, Khudadadi threw her helmet and mouthpiece into the air. 

"It was a surreal moment, my heart started racing when I realized I had won the bronze," she said after the match. 

"I went through so much to get here," the 25-year-old added. "This medal is for all the women of Afghanistan and all the refugees of the world. I hope that one day there will be peace in my country."

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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 now restricting access to work, travel and healthcare for much of the country's female population. Most female athletes in the country must practice in secret, if they can practice at all, according to multiple reports. 

During the U.S. military's withdrawal from Afghanistan in summer 2021, the Taliban began to retake control of the country, and Khudadadi realized her pursuit of Paralympic taekwondo would not be tolerated under the returning Sharia Law. During their 1996-2001 rule, also guided by Sharia Islamic law, the Taliban stopped women from working, let alone compete in a combat sport. Girls were not allowed to go to school, and women had to wear all-enveloping burqas to go out and then only when accompanied by a male relative.

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Then, just days before the start of the Tokyo Paralympics, she made a plea in an online video that went viral. She begged the international community to help her escape Afghanistan. 

It worked. 

She was smuggled out of the country by unidentified actors and was then put on a flight to Tokyo. There, she was allowed to compete for her home country of Afghanistan. She famously wore a white hijab for the opening match of the combat sport's Paralympic debut. She did not medal, but she became the first Afghan woman to appear at the Games since 2004 and second since 1960. 

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She never returned to Afghanistan after that, nor would she compete for the country at the Paralympics this year. Instead, she moved to France where she trained for the Paris Games, and her training paid off with her first Paralympic medal. The French spectators in Paris on Thursday gave her a rousing cheer. 

"This medal is fantastic for me but also for all the women in Afghanistan and all the refugees," she said in French. "We're not giving up for equality and freedom in my country."

Khudadadi says she plans to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics as well. 

"I want to give this medal to the whole world. I hope that one day there will be freedom in my country, for all the world, for all the girls, for all the women, for all the refugees in the world," she said. "And that all of us work towards that, for liberty and equality."

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