An Israeli cycling team announced Monday that it had recruited exiled Afghan athlete Fariba Hashimi, a day after she won her national championship, which has been held in Switzerland since the women’s sporting event was banned by the ruling Taliban.
Hashimi, 19, and her sister Yulduz, 22, who held a prominent position at the event, fled Afghanistan days before the ultraconservative Taliban entered Kabul last year and seized the country, carrying out a crackdown on women’s rights.
Now that she is building a new life in Italy, Fariba Hashimi has accepted an invitation to enroll in the Women’s WorldTour Israel – Premier Tech Roland team, extended through team owner Sylvan Adams, according to a team representative.
The aforementioned Yulduz will also sign for the team next year, “with the announcement of a continental under-23 team in preparation”.
“We make history here as those two brave women, the first in their country to succeed at this point in the sport,” Adams said. “This is one component of our commitment to helping young cyclists around the world, from emerging countries to war zones. “”
“I can’t lie, it’s very exciting, but it’s also pressure,” Fariba Hashimi said. “I honestly didn’t think I would have this opportunity to race for a WorldTour team and the chance to compete in the Tour de France.
“I will rise to the challenge and run for all the women in Afghanistan. My country is harmful to many of the women who live there. Women are not willing to live and thrive as they wish, but if you see me traveling in TDF in Afghanistan colors, you will see that anything is possible.
Adams, an Israeli-Canadian philanthropist, helped rescue Afghans after the Taliban seized them last August.
The Taliban banned gambling sports, banned many government jobs, and banned secondary education for girls.
The Islamist organization also takes a hard line against Israel, with a spokesman saying last year it was open to ties with all countries except the Jewish state. The Taliban have a history of supporting al-Qaeda, which makes threats against Israel and uses anti-Israel rhetoric in its propaganda.
The globally subsidized government he overthrew through the Taliban, the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, also had no relations with Israel.
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