Kimia Yousofi, the Afghan athlete who comes last in the 100 and shows a message

She had no hope of advancing to the next round. But she took full advantage of the opportunity to send a message to the world. The sprinter Kimia Yousofi, one of the 6 athletes who arrived in Paris to represent Afghanistan, was keen to denounce the state in which the women of her country still find themselves today. Arriving last, far behind with a modest 13″42 in her 100-meter heat, after crossing the finish line she thought of only one thing: she took off her bib, turned it around in front of the cameras and showed that there were three pen-written words in English with three colors, those of Afghanistan: one in black with the word “Education” then one in the center in green (“Sport”), finally one in red at the bottom with the phrase “Our rights”.

“Women in Afghanistan want basic rights, education and sports”

“I think I have to feel responsible towards Afghan girls because they don’t know how to speak,” she explained immediately after in post-race interviews. “I have never been involved in politics, I just do what I think is right. Here I can talk to the media and be the voice of Afghan girls. I tell you what they want: they want basic rights, education and sports. The ability to decide about their own lives has been taken away from them for the last two years. This is my flag, this is my country, this is my land and that’s why I’m fighting for something to change,” she concluded. Women in Afghanistan have suffered immensely since the country was conquered in August 2021 by the Taliban who only recognize men. So much so that the women’s races in Paris 2024 were not broadcast on TV because they were deemed “scandalous and immoral.” A 2023 United Nations report found that Afghanistan is currently the most repressive nation in the world with women, deprived of virtually all their basic rights.

She was the flag bearer for Afghanistan at the Tokyo Games

Kimia Yousofi’s story exudes courage and a desire to emerge: she was born in 1996 in Mashhad, Iran, to parents who fled Afghanistan during the previous Taliban government. In 2012, when she was only 16 years old, she won a talent selection reserved for Afghan immigrant girls living in Iran. She returned to Afghanistan to train, hoping to have the chance to participate in the Olympics. A goal achieved in 2016 and 2021 in which she had the honor of being elected flag bearer. When the Taliban regained control of her country, she moved permanently to Australia with the help of local officials and the IOC. She would have earned a place on the Refugee Olympic team, designed for refugee athletes like her, but she wanted to represent Afghanistan for the third time precisely to send a fundamental message to the entire world.