Zahra: “I want to break that taboo that is in Afghanistan”

December 3, 2019

Like most Afghans she is not quite sure of the day she was born in Kabul; however, when she had to pick a birthday for her official documents Zahra decided on April 28, 1992 because her mother told her she was born when the Communist regime fell.

Zahra’s birthday is what most Afghans know as Mujahideen Victory Day. That day is also when a civil war broke out as rival militias vied for influence. In response to the situation, the Taliban emerged in the fall of 1994 and quickly gained momentum. On September 27, 1996, they declared victory when they gained control of the capital city. 

Under the Taliban, women were banned from going to school, banned from working, banned from leaving the house without a male chaperone, banned from showing skin in public, banned from accessing healthcare delivered by men, and banned from being involved in politics or speaking publicly.

Millions were forced from their homes due to the continued violence and oppression.

Zahra, her two brothers, and her parents fled to Karachi, Pakistan. Once there, at around five-years-old, Zahra’s parents divorced. As the only female left in the house, Zahra learned at a young age that the expectation of her as an Afghan girl was different than what was expected of Afghan boys. 

As a child, she weaved carpets alongside her brothers to bring in money for the family, except when they were done with work, her brothers got to go play, Zahra’s work was far from over, she still had to cook and clean.

“When I was a kid I saw boys riding bicycles and they were playing, but I could not do it because people were telling me that a girl should not do this, but in my insides, I wanted to do it,” Zahra said.

Despite the stigmas surrounding girls and sports being bad, one day Zahra got her chance to ride. 

“I just did it because that was my childhood passion that I wanted to do it,” Zahra said.

Apart from sneaking to do sports as a kid Zahra also studied hard.

“As a child, I studied whenever I could—my books were open when I cooked, I did my homework during my breaks while weaving carpets, I read while walking home from the store—there were times when I wanted to give up, but my studies taught me better. Books showed me a life I longed to have,” Zahra said.

In 2001, as the Taliban were ousted from power, Zahra’s family returned to Kabul, but her life was far cry from the ones she read about. Her house did not have running water or a bathroom.

The city was in ruins. There were hardly any paved roads and although some schools had opened for girls, the quality of education was really low. She said when she went to enroll at a government school they put her in 7th grade when she was supposed to be in 3rd grade.

Eventually she was able to get into a better school and all that reading she did as a kid paid off. In 2009, she earned the highest score in her high school on the Kankor exam, a test all students take to get into university. She went on to study economics and land a job working as a finance specialist.

Today, nearly two decades later, Zahra still lives in the same Kabul house. 

“I don’t know why I feel ashamed of where we are living, but I am working hard to build a nicer house for us,” Zahra said. 

Now 27, she is the primary breadwinner at home supporting 14 people.

“Today, I am not the little girl who used to weave carpets, but it was not just my studies that empowered me. Sports have helped me to continue to break down barriers,” Zahra said.

And in 2019, Zahra decided she wanted to do something no Afghan woman has done before – a triathlon. With the support of She Can Tri, in partnership with Free to Run, Zahra started training. 

“I am challenging myself and I am showing any young girls and Afghan women that they can do anything they want if they really work hard,” said Zahra.

After a year of training with She Can Tri, Zahra will compete in the IRONMAN 70.3 Dubai in February. She hopes to earn a slot in the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in New Zealand in November.

With She Can Tri, Zahra has also had the opportunity to talk to other young Afghan women about overcoming their fears. 

But pushing boundaries in Afghanistan, a country called the most dangerous place to be a woman, is certainly not easy.

Finding safe areas to swim, bike, and run is only part of the battle. In some areas if a woman were seen doing sport she would get beaten, stoned, or even worse.

For Zahra, apart from being harassed, she said people have thrown rocks at her while she was cycling or running, but the worst incident happened earlier this year while she was on her way to practice. A man on a motorcycle grabbed her by her backpack. She fell to the ground and chipped her front tooth. She did not want to tell her father because she feared he would not let her continue training, so she called her uncle to help her get it fixed before anyone could notice.

Furthermore, there are only two pools in Kabul that allow women, but if a woman is menstruating they are not allowed inside. 

The pools are also expensive. Without the support of She Can Tri, Zahra said she would not be able to afford the training.

Most Afghan women don't work and the ones that do are lucky to take home a couple hundred dollars a month. 

With no proper postal system, getting equipment is also a challenge. Zahra’s road bicycle was flown into the country by a She Can Tri volunteer from the United States.

And power outages in Kabul are so frequent they are simply part of life in Afghanistan.

Despite the major obstacles, Zahra is not giving up.

"I do it because I want to show the girls and women that they can do it too, because they should see an example, and I am doing it because I want to break that taboo that is in Afghanistan," said Zahra.

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