Afghan Women Wheelchair Basketball Star Makes Debut in Spain

The Taliban left an impact early on Afghan basketballer Nilofar Bayat.

As captain of Afghanistan’s wheelchair basketball team and a women’s rights activist, Nilofar Bayat fled for her life in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over.

In recent years, Bayat was hopeful things were changing in Afghanistan. She was part of a generation that enjoyed freedoms for women, with access to education and work. However, the dark days are back.

The captain of the Afghan women’s wheelchair basketball team made her debut for her new Spanish side to cheers and applause just over a month after fleeing Kabul. 

Nilofar Bayat and her husband Ramesh Naik Zai arrived in Madrid from Kabul on Aug. 20 on a flight with 100 other refugees.

"I'm luckier than other Afghan people in that I've left and am here and can start a new life. But I'm just one person, others are still there," she said.

A permanent disability that we have to accept.

Life in Afghanistan for a woman is difficult enough, but for a disabled woman the trials are “double”.

When she was just two years old, Bayat’s family home was caught in the crossfire between the Taliban and the Mujahideen. A Taliban rocket hit her house, killing her brother and badly injuring her spinal cord. 
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Her activism on behalf of women and the disabled brought her a certain level of renown in her country. 

Courage and popularity threatened her too. Many times she has spoken badly about the Taliban, which could have had a bad effect if she stayed in the country.

Although she is safe in Spain, her heart is still in Afghanistan.