Afghan boxer Rezai reveals how she was forced to flee Afghanistan due to Taliban threat

After receiving death threats from Taliban, female Afghan lightweight boxing champion Seema Rezai was compelled to flee Afghanistan in order to pursue her passion for sports. Rezai, a member of national women's boxing team, told Sputnik that she left her hometown alone, without her family, in order to continue her boxing career.

Rezai said,

"When  Taliban seized Kabul in mid-August, I was at boxing training with my coach. But n some people told  Taliban that re is a girl who trains with a male coach, and y sent me home a written warning about need to stop training or continue boxing in United States, promising to kill if I do t agree to do so."

Rezai flew to Qatar and is w waiting for a US visa

Rezai flew to Qatar on an evacuation aircraft and is w awaiting a visa to United States, where she intends to continue her athletics career, according to Sputnik. Rezai began boxing professionally when she was 16 years old. Her coach purchased her training equipment due to her family's hostile attitude towards her passion. Meanwhile, Taliban has declared that only women who wear hijab and here to 'Sharia Law' will be allowed to attend school and work.

Due to Afghan society's typically negative attitude towards women, athlete said that boxing in Afghanistan, even under previous ministration, was a huge difficulty for a woman. As a result,  Afghan federations and Olympic committee have never been able to raise funds for women's teams to compete in international events, according to Sputnik.

Rezai me it into Afghanistan's national boxing squ and is still undefeated

Rezai defied her parents' wishes and became a fighter. She even carved her way into sport, claiming that her coach was initially hesitant to coach a girl because it was t common for an Afghan woman to be in a sport like boxing. She me it to Afghanistan's national boxing squ six months later and is unbeaten, two years later. Seema Rezai told New York Times that she got into boxing after watching former UFC wrestler Ronda Rousey's fight. 

(Inputs from ANI)

Im: @SeemaRezai/Twitter, Unsplash