Fariba Hashimi has claimed a silver medal in the women's cycling road race at the Asian Games — a remarkable achievement made all the more extraordinary by what the 23-year-old Afghan athlete had to endure just to train for her sport back home.
Hashimi finished the road race in a time of 2 hours, 50 minutes and 5 seconds, taking silver behind gold medallist Guo Li of China, with Leung Wing Yee of Hong Kong claiming bronze.
Training in disguise under Taliban rule
Before escaping Afghanistan in 2021, Hashimi faced extraordinary dangers simply by getting on a bike. In a country where women's rights have been drastically curtailed under Taliban rule, she disguised herself as a man every time she went to train.
"All the time when I was going to training I was dressing as a guy," she said after her podium finish.
She also concealed her face to avoid recognition — because being identified as a woman on a bicycle carried a very real threat of violence.
"Because sometimes when they recognised me, they were trying to throw stones or hitting me," she said.
Escape to Italy and the road to the Asian Games
When the Taliban consolidated control of Afghanistan in 2021, Hashimi made the decision to leave — not just to protect herself, but to preserve her dream of competing at the highest level.
"In 2021, when the Taliban moved into my country, I escaped my country because I wanted to follow my dream," she said.
She was able to flee to Italy with the assistance of former road racing world champion Alessandra Cappellotto, and has been living and training there since. The move proved transformative: free to train openly, Hashimi has now competed on one of Asia's biggest sporting stages and stood on the podium.
"I'm really, really happy and I'm full of emotion. I don't know how I can explain it for you," she said following her silver medal ride.
A message to women in Afghanistan — and to the Taliban
For Hashimi, the medal is about far more than personal achievement. She is acutely aware of what her success could mean for women still living under Taliban restrictions, and she spoke openly about hoping to inspire them.
"I want to show the Afghanistan women in the world that we can have an opportunity," she said.
She described a dream of one day returning to Kabul and riding its streets alongside other women — freely and openly.
"I hope one day I come back in my country and ride the streets of Kabul — and riding with the women side-by-side to share the same passion," she said. "And I hope in the future changing some things."
Her message to the Taliban was direct and defiant: "I know how much one woman can be powerful, and that's why the Taliban is scared of women."
Hashimi acknowledged that the changes she hopes for may take time, but said Afghan women — and she herself — are exhausted by the current situation and determined to keep pushing forward.
Her silver medal, hard-won in every sense of the word, stands as both a sporting triumph and a powerful symbol of resistance.
