Afghanistan’s First Female Olympian Asks IOC to Exclude Country from Paris Games

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Fariba Rezayee, the first woman to represent Afghanistan at the Olympics, has launched a campaign urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude Afghanistan from the upcoming Paris Games due to the Taliban’s human rights violations.

In an interview with Reuters on Monday, April 15, the former judoka, who participated in the 2004 Olympic Games, emphasized that while Afghanistan under Taliban control should be excluded from the upcoming games, Afghan women should still have the chance to compete as members of the IOC Refugee Olympic Team.