Afghanistan will send 17 female athletes to compete in three different sports at the Asian Games in China later this month, Afghanistan’s Olympic committee said.
Female sport in Afghanistan has been quashed since the Taliban took over the country from a Western-supported government in August 2021, forcing many well-known women to escape the nation for worry of oppression.
The Taliban proceeded on to drastically restrict women’s independence and freedoms, including barring women and girls from the nation’s education system, in what the UN has said could amount to an offense against humanity.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) also cautioned Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers in December that permitting women and young girls secure access to sports was a need for the nation’s representation at the 2024 Paris Games.
In a statement on Tuesday Afghanistan’s NOC said that Afghanistan will glow brightly as it proudly boasts the highest number of female athletes ever to grace the Asian Games stage.
The statement added that NOC Afghanistan will bring a female group sports team in the field containing a total of 17 exceptional women athletes and devoted team officials across three fields: athletics, cycling, and volleyball.
Three scholarships had been granted to female athletes, “easing the path for their extraordinary journeys towards the renowned Paris 2024 Olympics, the Afghanistan NOC added.
The Asian Games in Hangzhou, China will be held from September 23 to October 8.
