Yulduz and Fariba Hashimi: Escaping the Taliban, chasing a dream

Yulduz Hashimi (left), Fariba Hashimi (centre) and chap Afghan Zehra Rezayee connected the podium aft the Women's Road Championships of Afghanistan 2022

It's a scorching blistery June day successful the mediate of an Italian heatwave. There hasn't been immoderate rainfall for a month. But grey clouds are dilatory rolling successful and the humidity is rising fast. A tempest is brewing. The benignant that lone happens erstwhile a summertime here.

It's a beauteous route. There are fewer cars connected the roadworthy up and a stunning presumption implicit a Veneto colony awaits them arsenic a reward.

They property on. There are 17 winding bends, numbered astatine each turn. They are elite cyclists - immoderate of the champion from their country. But they're not utilized to riding astir bends, and they're surely not utilized to cycling successful pouring, driving rain.

It's acold from the dusty scenery of bluish Afghanistan wherever they travel from, wherever often the rubbly roads are not adjacent suitable to locomotion on.

At the top, they intermission to respect the presumption of their caller home. Fat droplets of rainfall tally down disconnected their helmets. It's clip to go. They grin astatine each different arsenic they instrumentality disconnected connected the descent: "See you astatine home!"

It had ne'er been casual for the sisters to cycle, adjacent earlier the instrumentality of the Taliban.

Fariba and Yulduz Hashimi were calved successful 1 of the astir remote, blimpish provinces successful Afghanistan, wherever it was practically unheard of to spot women cycling.

In 2017 a section rhythm contention was enactment connected successful their section Faryab province, successful the north. The sisters - past aged 14 and 17 - decided they wanted to instrumentality part.

But determination was 1 tiny problem. They didn't cognize however to thrust a bike.

They borrowed a neighbour's to signifier 1 afternoon. After a fewer hours, they yet got the bent of it.

They had to instrumentality portion successful the contention secretly due to the fact that they hadn't told their family. They covered themselves up, wearing large baggy clothing, ample headscarves and sunglasses truthful radical didn't recognise them. They adjacent changed their names.

They ended up finishing archetypal and second. "It felt amazing. I felt similar a vertebrate who could fly," Fariba, present 19, tells BBC Sport.

Faryab province, wherever the sisters travel from, borders Turkmenistan successful the northbound of Afghanistan

They carried on, entering arsenic galore tiny races arsenic they could. It became harder to support it from their household due to the fact that they kept winning. Their parents soon recovered retired from photos taken by section media.

"They were upset astatine first. They asked maine to halt cycling," Fariba says. "But I didn't springiness up. I secretly continued," she smiles.

Their parents warned against the dangers, but yet they were supportive.

The sisters faced regular harassment. "People were abusive. All I wanted to bash was triumph races," Yulduz, 22, explains.

"There were tons of threats," Fariba adds. "People tried to deed america with their cars oregon rickshaws. They threw stones astatine us."

Even their pistillate class-mates astatine schoolhouse bullied them for riding bikes.

Soon though, they got noticed, and were called up for the nationalist team.

"I volition ne'er hide the day," Yulduz says. "I felt connected apical of the world."

Their careers went steadily uphill from there, until the Taliban's instrumentality to powerfulness successful August 2021.

It changed everything, and instantly enactment their lives successful danger. The hard-line Islamist radical bans women from playing immoderate sport. But that's not all.

Since returning to power, the radical person consistently cracked down connected women's rights and freedoms.

They've banned each girls from going to school, and astir precocious from attending assemblage - wholly cutting disconnected pistillate entree to education.

They've banned women from astir areas of employment - including humanitarian assistance organisations.

Women don't person the state to formal however they want. The Taliban codification of behaviour says women indispensable screen themselves entirely, but astir women successful large cities deterioration the headscarf.

They are not allowed to question agelong distances without a antheral chaperone, and person been barred from going to parks and gyms. Without truthful galore rights, galore women person wondered what's near for them.

The United Nations Refugee Agency estimated 2.6m Afghans became refugees during 2021 arsenic the Taliban returned to power

Fariba and Yulduz - and different pistillate athletes similar them - were typical of an Afghanistan which had been making immoderate advancement towards sex equality implicit the 2 decades since a US-led coalition's overthrow of the aged regime. The caller mentation of the state though was not 1 the Taliban recognised.

The sisters knew they had to permission if they had immoderate accidental of continuing their careers. So, they contacted Alessandra Cappellotto. The Italian, who won a satellite roadworthy rubric successful 1997, present uses cycling to assistance women astir the world.

Her foundation Road to Equality had sponsored a contention organised successful Kabul for International Women's Day successful March 2021. The Hashimi sisters had met Cappellotto then.

"They asked for help. Their lives were successful danger. So it was earthy to assistance them," Cappellotto says. She called each interaction and organisation she could deliberation of to get them out; from the Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs to the United Nations.

With her influence, Fariba and Yulduz, arsenic good arsenic 3 of their team-mates - Nooria Mohammadi, Zahra Rezayee and Arezo Sarwari - got a spot connected a formation from Kabul, organised by the Italian government.

Leaving Kabul airdrome was a chaotic, upsetting experience. They had to accidental goodbye to their families, not knowing erstwhile - oregon if - they'd spot them again.

"I ne'er thought I would beryllium a refugee. I ne'er imagined that I'd person to permission my country," Fariba says.

Cappellotto brought them to a small, hilly municipality successful the Veneto portion of bluish Italy, adjacent to wherever she lives.

Alessandra Cappellotto (far right) became the archetypal Italian pistillate to triumph satellite roadworthy contention golden successful 1997

It's nary coincidence that it's a determination that's hugely fashionable with cyclists, with countless picturesque cycling routes.

She helped the radical settee successful their caller country, organised a location for them to unrecorded in, part-time jobs, and - astir importantly - play backstage Italian lessons.

Alessandra besides crucially acceptable them up with brand-new bikes, a nonrecreational coach, and a grooming schedule.

"Alessandra is an Italian cycling hero," Fariba says. "She's helped america a lot. She's similar a parent to us."

The radical has formed a adjacent enslaved with their coach, Maurizio. They affectionately telephone him the 'Capitano'.

Fariba and Yulduz with their manager Maurizio (centre), Alessandra Cappellotto (fifth from left) and team-mates

Under his care, the squad person had to enactment hard. "We ne'er had a manager successful Afghanistan. When I arrived, I felt determination was a batch to learn," Yulduz says. "It was a shock. It was similar I didn't cognize thing astir cycling."

"They had a much basal method level of cycling, yes," explains Alessandra. "But it's existent that the level of cycling successful Europe and Italy is the champion successful the world."

It was besides an contented of safety. They weren't utilized to cycling connected roads with cars. They had to instrumentality a cycling proficiency people - usually taken by children.

They joined the Italian cycling squad Valcar, taking portion successful races astir Italy specified arsenic the UCI World Gravel Championships successful adjacent Vicenza - wherever they came 33rd and 39th.

In October they took portion successful their archetypal large contention overseas since arriving successful Italy. The 2022 Women's Road Championships of Afghanistan was hosted successful Aigle, Switzerland, due to the fact that of the concern successful the country.

The sisters fought retired a thrilling decorativeness successful October's nationalist championships

Fariba won the contention aft an breathtaking sprint-off against her sister, to go the caller Afghan women's roadworthy champion. After they crossed the decorativeness line, the sisters embraced successful a long, tearful hug.

Fariba's triumph secured a declaration with the Israel-Premier Tech-Roland squad and she is acceptable to measurement up to the Women's WorldTour level - the highest level successful roadworthy cycling - aboriginal this year.

"I did not expect this successful my wildest dreams. I volition contention for each Afghan women!" she told media after.

Her older sister Yulduz, who got silver, has besides won a spot connected Israel-Premier Tech-Roland's Development team. Zahra Rezayee - their person and flat-mate - secured the bronze.

"I americium precise blessed for them," Fazli Ahmad Fazli, Afghan Cycling Federation President said. "These women are astonishing riders and I'm definite that soon they volition triumph successful large races for Afghanistan."

Fifty riders took portion successful the race, galore of whom fled Afghanistan successful August 2021. They came from crossed antithetic countries successful Europe wherever they are claiming asylum, arsenic good arsenic Singapore and Canada.

The sisters person large dreams. They privation to go the archetypal cyclists ever - antheral oregon pistillate - to correspond Afghanistan astatine the Olympics.

It won't beryllium casual - qualifying for the Olympics is hugely competitive. And Afghanistan whitethorn not beryllium determination astatine all.

In December, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) warned the Taliban authorities that the state could beryllium banned from Paris 2024 unless women and young girls were allowed harmless entree to sport.

If that happens, Afghan refugees could person the enactment to vie nether the IOC Refugee Olympic squad alternatively - similar Afghan cyclist Masomah Ali Zada did astatine Tokyo 2020.

But Fariba and Yulduz, who person won Olympic scholarships giving them fiscal and method enactment for their careers, privation to correspond their homeland - and the emblem of its toppled authorities specifically.

"I privation to rise the emblem of Afghanistan," Yulduz says. "I privation my begetter and parent to spot maine and consciousness proud. That would beryllium the biggest imagination ever."

"Cycling is simply a athletics wherever willpower, the tendency to enactment hard and passionateness number for a lot. And these girls decidedly person these things," Alessandra tells me.

Yulduz (left) and Fariba (centre) holding Italian and Afghanistan flags aft their win

They desperately miss home, and go instantly affectional erstwhile talking astir their families. But excessively often they're reminded wherefore they left.

They person had societal media messages from relatives who are members of the Taliban - telling them to screen up successful photos they've seen of them racing successful planetary media.

"My friends can't spell to schoolhouse oregon permission their homes," Yulduz says. "I think, what would person happened to maine if I stayed?"

The past twelvemonth has been a immense civilization shock. But Italy, and the assemblage they person go a portion of, has welcomed them with unfastened arms. "When the Taliban came, my imagination was dying. But Italy gave maine different hope," smiles Yulduz.

It's a brutal determination to person had to marque truthful young - choosing betwixt your homeland and family, and your vocation and dreams. These sisters are thankful to person each different to stock the highs and lows of specified tremendous change.

While the Taliban is successful charge, returning location arsenic nonrecreational athletes isn't an option. In the meantime, the sisters privation to beryllium to everyone, but astir of each themselves, that the sacrifice of leaving everything down was worthy it. And they're throwing everything they tin into their cycling to bash so.