In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, repression has increasingly moved beyond public decrees to the regulation of everyday life. The arrest of 22-year-old taekwondo coach Khadija Ahmadzada in Herat for secretly training girls underscores how even non-political, private acts are now treated as challenges to authority. Her sessions, conducted discreetly in a residential parking area, were neither public nor confrontational. Yet their very existence placed them outside what the Taliban consider acceptable female behaviour.
During a raid in mid-January, Khadija was detained along with her father and the building owner, while her students managed to escape. No formal charges were disclosed, and her social media presence was swiftly shut down. The incident highlights how enforcement has become both physical and digital, extending control beyond public spaces into private and online domains.
Sport as a Site of Control
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have issued more than 150 directives restricting women’s movement, education, employment, and expression. While bans on sports may appear secondary compared to broader prohibitions, they carry symbolic and practical weight. Physical training encourages confidence, discipline, and collective identity qualities that run counter to the Taliban’s rigid vision of women’s roles.
By targeting underground sports activities, authorities are not merely enforcing conservative norms; they are dismantling spaces where women cultivate agency. Such restrictions suggest that the objective is not moral regulation alone, but the systematic removal of women from all forms of organised social life.
Surveillance Beyond the Streets
Khadija’s arrest also reveals how repression in Afghanistan has evolved. The immediate deactivation of her social media accounts indicates growing scrutiny of digital platforms, which once offered Afghan women limited professional visibility and connection. Online presence, even when apolitical, is increasingly treated as suspect.This expanding surveillance blurs the boundary between public and private life. Informal initiatives whether educational circles, skill training, or sports now carry heightened risk, as enforcement relies not only on official raids but also on monitoring and local reporting.
The Shrinking Space for Quiet Resistance
Across the country, women have responded to restrictions by adapting rather than openly confronting authority. Underground classes, home-based work, and discreet training sessions represent efforts to preserve a sense of normalcy and self-worth. However, cases like Khadija’s demonstrate the narrowing margin for such adaptation. As informal networks are identified and dismantled, even the smallest expressions of independence can result in detention. Quiet resistance persists, but its sustainability is increasingly uncertain.
More Than an Isolated Incident
The detention in Herat should not be viewed as an isolated enforcement action. It reflects a broader pattern in which women’s participation whether educational, professional, or physical is framed as a threat to social order. When teaching girls to practise a sport becomes grounds for imprisonment, repression has shifted from policy to routine governance.The lack of transparency surrounding Khadija’s charges further reinforces the climate of uncertainty Afghan women face. Arbitrary enforcement serves as a deterrent not just to organised defiance, but to initiative itself.
A System Built on Erasure
Khadija Ahmadzada’s story highlights the depth of Afghanistan’s gender exclusion under Taliban rule. The issue is no longer confined to formal bans; it lies in the active dismantling of informal spaces where women exercise autonomy. As repression becomes institutionalised, resistance is pushed further underground, carrying greater personal cost.In today’s Afghanistan, even the most modest acts of self-empowerment are treated as transgressions. The arrest in Herat is a stark reminder that for Afghan women, survival itself has become an act of defiance.
How the Taliban Is Intimidating Afghan Women Athletes: The Case of a Taekwondo Coach
In Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, repression has increasingly moved beyond public decrees to the regulation of everyday life. The arrest of 22-year-old taekwondo coach Khadija Ahmadzada in Herat for secretly training girls underscores how even non-political, private acts are now treated as challenges to authority. Her sessions, conducted discreetly in a residential parking area, were neither public nor confrontational. Yet their very existence placed them outside what the Taliban consider acceptable female behaviour.
During a raid in mid-January, Khadija was detained along with her father and the building owner, while her students managed to escape. No formal charges were disclosed, and her social media presence was swiftly shut down. The incident highlights how enforcement has become both physical and digital, extending control beyond public spaces into private and online domains.
Sport as a Site of Control
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have issued more than 150 directives restricting women’s movement, education, employment, and expression. While bans on sports may appear secondary compared to broader prohibitions, they carry symbolic and practical weight. Physical training encourages confidence, discipline, and collective identity qualities that run counter to the Taliban’s rigid vision of women’s roles.
By targeting underground sports activities, authorities are not merely enforcing conservative norms; they are dismantling spaces where women cultivate agency. Such restrictions suggest that the objective is not moral regulation alone, but the systematic removal of women from all forms of organised social life.
Surveillance Beyond the Streets
Khadija’s arrest also reveals how repression in Afghanistan has evolved. The immediate deactivation of her social media accounts indicates growing scrutiny of digital platforms, which once offered Afghan women limited professional visibility and connection. Online presence, even when apolitical, is increasingly treated as suspect.This expanding surveillance blurs the boundary between public and private life. Informal initiatives whether educational circles, skill training, or sports now carry heightened risk, as enforcement relies not only on official raids but also on monitoring and local reporting.
The Shrinking Space for Quiet Resistance
Across the country, women have responded to restrictions by adapting rather than openly confronting authority. Underground classes, home-based work, and discreet training sessions represent efforts to preserve a sense of normalcy and self-worth. However, cases like Khadija’s demonstrate the narrowing margin for such adaptation. As informal networks are identified and dismantled, even the smallest expressions of independence can result in detention. Quiet resistance persists, but its sustainability is increasingly uncertain.
More Than an Isolated Incident
The detention in Herat should not be viewed as an isolated enforcement action. It reflects a broader pattern in which women’s participation whether educational, professional, or physical is framed as a threat to social order. When teaching girls to practise a sport becomes grounds for imprisonment, repression has shifted from policy to routine governance.The lack of transparency surrounding Khadija’s charges further reinforces the climate of uncertainty Afghan women face. Arbitrary enforcement serves as a deterrent not just to organised defiance, but to initiative itself.
A System Built on Erasure
Khadija Ahmadzada’s story highlights the depth of Afghanistan’s gender exclusion under Taliban rule. The issue is no longer confined to formal bans; it lies in the active dismantling of informal spaces where women exercise autonomy. As repression becomes institutionalised, resistance is pushed further underground, carrying greater personal cost.In today’s Afghanistan, even the most modest acts of self-empowerment are treated as transgressions. The arrest in Herat is a stark reminder that for Afghan women, survival itself has become an act of defiance.
News Desk