Ahmad Roman Abasy: The Afghan Taekwondo star championing education and women's rights despite Taliban target

Many sportspeople pursue fame and glory as an end in itself, seen as a well-deserved personal reward for years of toil and perseverance.

But for Afghan Taekwondo star Ahmad Roman Abasy — who has represented Afghanistan at the Asian Games, World Taekwondo Championships, the Uzbekistan Open, Jordan Open, Fajir Open, Russian Open and the Indian Open — the celebrity status was always going to be a vehicle through which he could champion causes greater than any needs of his own.

"It’s really important that every man in Afghanistan stands behind women"

From encouraging Afghan girls to participate in sports, and challenging sexual harassment in women’s football to advocating for workers’ rights and fundraising for people living with disabilities, Abasy has spent the last decade advocating for those in Afghanistan who otherwise would be left voiceless and persecuted.

“I wanted to use my voice because I had this sports background, and because of this a lot of people followed me on social media,” says Abasy, an Asian Games bronze medallist.

“I believed that if I talked about these issues, it would have some effect on society.”

Abasy has not only used his voice but has taken action by establishing multiple charities to effect real change on the ground — including the Labkhand (“Smile”) Charity Foundation in 2016, followed by the Peace and Prosperity Organization in 2019.

“I started organisations that worked for all Afghan citizens on athletes’ rights and rights to education and employment. Women, especially, didn’t have these rights,” Abasy says.

Why did Abasy, a man with no problem achieving his dreams amidst Afghan politics, take the risk of standing up for others?

“It’s really important that every man in Afghanistan stands behind women,” Abasy asserts.

“When women feel that men support them and ‘they are with us’, they will be confident and better able to advocate for themselves.

“There are now a lot of women working in Afghanistan who are using their voices in the media about education and the right to work, and it’s very important.”

Abasy, who spent years advocating for others, suddenly found himself branded with a persecuted status upon the return of the Taliban on August 15 2021, after the withdrawal of US military presence on the ground.

“Our work at both of the organisations stopped when the Taliban came because me and my family went into hiding,” Abasy said.

“Most of the people doing the same things I have done are in prison… [or] the Taliban killed them.”

According to a recently released report from the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), at least  218 extrajudicial killings, 14 enforced disappearances, over 144 instances of torture and ill-treatment, and 424 arbitrary arrests and detentions were carried out by the Taliban between 15 August 2021 and 30 June 2023.

Abasy’s own family members are represented in the latter statistics.

“A group of Taliban was searching all over Afghanistan for me… they found my father. He told them that me, my brothers and sisters were no longer in Afghanistan, but they detained him for three days.”

Further relatives that cannot be identified were also tortured in the search for Abasy.

“Those were really bad days for me and my family,” he says.

After six months of hiding, Abasy was granted asylum via an Australian humanitarian visa, escaping Afghanistan to Pakistan in February 2022, and then flying to Sydney, Australia in June of that year.

Post-Nowruz 2024, the new year celebration in Afghanistan coinciding with the spring equinox, Abasy is living a new life, having successfully migrated to Australia with his wife, parents and siblings, and started a new job as a Sports Coordinator at the charity organisation, Reclink Australia.

“The Taliban’s Islam is very different to other Islamic countries, which support girls going to school and university... I don’t know where the Taliban brought their ideas from, but it’s very unfamiliar for the Afghan people” 

But Abasy’s heart still aches when he contrasts his bright new beginning to thousands of Afghan women’s crushed dreams under the Taliban’s rule.

“The Taliban’s Islam is very different to other Islamic countries, which support girls going to school and university,” Abasy says.

“I don’t know where the Taliban brought their ideas from, but it’s very unfamiliar for the Afghan people.” 

Abasy’s younger sister, Marwa, still finds it hard to put into words, the feeling of freedom being extinguished upon the Taliban’s return.

The movement has issued more than 50 decrees stripping women of their freedom of speech and movement as well as their rights to employment, education and political participation.

“When the gunfire [from the insurgency] stopped, I couldn't help but look out the window. The city looked so sad as if it wanted to cry,” Marwa says.

“You could no longer hear kids playing, laughing, or crying, and my neighbours looked like they had forgotten how to smile.

"Suddenly… there were no women, no girls outside. That was when I felt that all my dreams and millions of other girls’ dreams were gone and erased forever.”

"Afghan girls are undeniably some of the strongest women in the world... Despite the challenges we face, we remain resilient and humble, coming from small cities with hearts as vast as the mountains that surround us"

Marwa’s observations are supported by the latest data from Gallup’s 2024 World Happiness Report, ranking Afghanistan as the world’s least happy country, with a life evaluation score of just 1.7 out of 10.

“I cried,” Marwa says, “Realising how we have one earth but different worlds in it, and how life can change completely in one night.”

Whilst his family escaped against the odds, Abasy continues his advocacy online to encourage the world to act in the face of this oppression.

“These are very tough days for Afghanistan; we need the world to stand with us,” Abasy says.

“It’s very important that other countries don’t recognise the government of the Taliban and pressure them to give people rights because right now they don’t have any… They must listen to the Afghan people’s voices, not the Taliban’s.”

Meanwhile, Marwa continued her final years of high school in Australia, overcoming language and cultural barriers to achieve admission to a Bachelor of Science at the University of New South Wales, putting her on track to realise her dreams of becoming a dentist.

“I did not give up and tried to do my best,” Marwa says.

"I knew that I wanted to get into a very good university, as of all things, education is the most important thing an Afghan girl needs and deserves at this time.”

Like her older brother, Marwa will continue fighting to restore Afghan women’s rights.

“I want to make a positive impact on people's lives,” she says. “I aspire to be someone who spreads kindness and offers support to those who need it.”

This resilient spirit, Marwa says, is part of the cultural DNA of the Afghan people.

"Afghan girls are undeniably some of the strongest women in the world... Despite the challenges we face, we remain resilient and humble, coming from small cities with hearts as vast as the mountains that surround us,” she says.

“Everyone deserves the chance to learn. It's time to stand up for Afghan girls and ensure they have the chance to pursue their dreams through education.”

Bianca Roberts is a freelance journalist and mass communication lecturer based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Ciaran O'Mahony is an Abu Dhabi-based journalist whose work has been published by numerous outlets including The Guardian and The Age. He is the founding editor of the independent and award-winning publication, The Jaded Newsman.