‘I was lost but football gave me strength’: Afghan women refugees on their fight for recognition

Exiles from the Taliban in England and Australia are using the sport to battle prejudice and give a voice to women and girls in Afghanistan“I felt quite lost,” says the goalkeeper Elaha Safdari. “I didn’t know anyone, but little by little football gave me the strength and power to start again, to start from zero, to build, to keep going and to keep pushing myself forward.”It is four years since a 17-year-old Safdari arrived in England, part of the Afghanistan women’s development team evacuated first to Pakistan then to the UK after the US withdrawal of troops and the concession of power to the Taliban. Continue reading...

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