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One of the fastest people in Afghanistan runs like a girl — and if everything works out, 19-year-old Mehbooba Andyar, the only Afghan woman scheduled to compete in this year’s Olympics, will soon have the chance to prove she’s one of the fastest in the world. But whether she wins or loses in Beijing, her biggest challenge lies not in the stadium but back home, where she faces fierce cultural disapproval — and even death threats — for stepping outside the traditional role of women in Afghan society to compete.
Sam French, our very own Man in Afghanistan, braved some cultural disapproval of his own — including a truckload of angry cops wielding AK-47s — to get the story. This is Sam’s tale, and the terrific short documentary that he and French filmmakers Louis Meunier and Jerome Veyret made about it.
Only 19 years old, Mehbooba Andyar has always dreamed of representing Afghanistan at the Olympics. This year, in Beijing, her dreams will be realized when she competes in the 1500 meter and 800 meter track and field events at the 2008 Olympic games. Her story is remarkable in a country where women generally don’t show their faces outside of the home, let alone attempt to compete on the world stage at the Olympics with billions of people watching. When she competes in Beijing, under the Afghan Olympic Committee’s rules, she must wear clothes which cover her entire body, as well as a black headscarf. Needless to say, this will hamper her style a bit.
Her family has faced intimidation and even death threats over her decision to compete. She can barely step outside for fear she will be accosted, verbally abused, or worse. Because of such fierce cultural disapproval, she trains outside of her house, on a rutted mud street, at dusk, when her neighbors are all inside their houses watching the latest soap operas imported from India (in which, I might add, the women inevitably bare their bellies in revealing sarongs).
Mehbooba’s family, like most of the poor residents of Kabul, live on the hills which surround the city, in concrete or packed earth dwellings, where they can avoid the zoning laws. They are under constant threat by those who disapprove of Mehbooba’s quest, and fearing for their lives, have been forced to move multiple times. But despite everything, her family wanted her story told.
Louis and I arrived late in the afternoon, our taxi taking us up muddy streets flowing with sewer water, past children playing pickup soccer and herds of sheep munching on trash. Mehbooba greeted us warmly, and ushered us into sit with the family for tea. Nothing is done in this country without tea — it is the oil of social discourse. Mehbooba served us with grace, only a slight tremor while pouring betraying her nervousness.
We dared not film anything until the rituals had been observed. Afghans put great stock in hospitality. And so, while the light was rapidly disappearing, we left our cameras in their bags and made small talk, haltingly, through our translator. We finally managed to get some footage, but all too soon, it was time for dinner, and the light had nearly disappeared. Apparently, in addition to training for the Olympics, it’s still Mehbooba’s job to cook dinner for her family – father, mother, brother, and younger sister. I took the camera and filmed some b-roll of her stirring a vegetable soup, bent over a small gas camping stove, illuminated only by its tiny flame.
After serving her family, she left her food uneaten and stepped outside. It was time to train. At this point, the sun had set. Alone, lit by the sodium vapor light of a single streetlamp, she limbered up and prepared to run.
Suddenly, headlights pierced the darkness. A 4X4 lumbered up the dirt track and slid to a stop in a cloud of dust in front of us. It was the police. Another 4X4 appeared behind us. Six policemen, each carrying an AK-47, stepped out of the two vehicles and surrounded us. One of them grabbed our camera and threw it into the back of his vehicle as their leader started yelling at us in Dari. I didn’t know what was going on. All I knew was that there were six angry men gesturing at us with guns.
Mehbooba’s father ran out of the house and started yelling at the policemen. They gestured at Mehbooba, and one of them grabbed her and roughly dragged her back inside the house. One of them waved his gun and shouted a question at me. Our translator leaned close, whispering to me that they wanted to know why we were filming. We told him to tell them that we had authorization from Jekdalek, the president of the Afghan Olympic Committee. He relayed this, which provoked a more intense bout of yelling and waving of guns. The translator shook his head. They tell me that you are filming a porno, he said.
Apparently, one of the neighbors, in a righteous rage that Mehbooba was stepping outside of her place, had called the police, who were all too happy to believe that the only reason two foreigners with cameras would be in a woman’s home was to film pornography. They yelled at us for two hours, standing on the dusty street, under the light of that single streetlamp. During the course of this barrage, none of which I understood, the neighbors had all finished dinner and come outside, ringing us with hostile faces. They all seemed to think that we were sex-addled foreign sickos, there to take advantage of their women. When the cops finally herded us to their vehicles, I was all too happy to get out of there.
At the station, the police chief asked to see ID. Louis pulled out his ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) press badge, which seemed to convince him that we were not pornographers. Our translator breathed a sigh of relief as we were unceremoniously shown the door. He said that if he had not been with us, he would have been beaten and thrown in jail.
In fact, to our great chagrin, we subsequently learned that the police returned the house, arrested Mehbooba’s father, and did exactly that. He was in jail for three days before being released. Because of us, her family had to move once again.
But her father implored us to continue filming. He wanted the world to know that his daughter would not be beaten by threats and intimidation. And so, over the next few days, we filmed Mehbooba training at the stadium, eating lunch with her fellow athletes, and talking about her struggle to compete. She seemed eager to talk to us, and even though her family bore the brunt of the punishment for our transgression, she apologized profusely and often for what happened. I think she was ashamed of her countrymen, and more determined than ever to show the world that she deserved to be in Beijing.
Even though she will never win any medals (she is a full minute slower than the fastest time in the 1500 meters), Mehbooba has already won by choosing to compete in the face of such cultural pressure. I believe she is a tribute to her country, and as I watched her run around the track at Ghazi stadium, where the Taliban used to execute women for adultery, I felt a sense of hope surge inside of me. When she competes in August, I hope the world watches her and feels the way I do: that where there is oppression and bigotry, there will be people like Mehbooba Ahdyar, who illuminate the world with their courage.
UPDATE: on July 4, 2008, Mehbooba fled from her hotel room in Italy, where she was training in preparation for the Olympic games. She is currently seeking asylum in Norway, fearful that her family will be killed should she compete. In a cruel twist of fate, however, the Afghan Olympic Committee has threatened to imprison Mehbooba’s family if she doesn’t return to compete; an impossible choice.
This is their short documentary about Mehbooba.
Timeline: Afghanistan at the Olympics
1980: The US and other nations boycott the summer games in Moscow because of the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Afghanistan sends a team which is handpicked by the Soviet forces. Most of the real athletes have joined the Mujahadeen, including the current Afghanistan Olympic Committee president, Jekdalek.
1984: Afghanistan, under Communist rule, boycotts the summer games in Los Angeles.
1988: Afghanistan competes in Seoul, but wins no medals.
1992: Afghanistan does not compete in Barcelona.
1996: Afghanistan sends two athletes to Atlanta. One, boxer Mohammad Aman, fails to appear at a mandatory weigh-in and is disqualified. The other, Marathoner Abdul Wasiqi, hurts his hamstring and finishes last.
2000: Afghanistan is banned by the IOC from competing in Sydney because the Taliban placed too many restrictions on the athletes – they could not wear shorts, they could not shave (which disqualified the boxers) and they did not allow women to compete.
2004: Afghanistan sends five athletes to compete in Athens. Among them are Robina Muqim Yaar (100 meter runner) and Friba Rezihi (judo), who are the first two women from Afghanistan ever sent to the Olympic games. Afghanistan wins no medals.
Check out Sam’s first dispatch here, or email him at sam at samfrench dot com.
What a beautiful story. I wish her so much success at the Olympics, and afterward.
posted by Kate on 7-28-2008 at 8:40 pm
She is a very brave girl from a very twisted country. It is terrible what the Taliban did to those people. The twisted dogma of fundamentalist radicals has created a society build on the fear of violence and change and a blind faith in tradition and government. Afghanistan used to let women do almost everything men did. now they blindly believe misogyny in the guise of religion. they’ve completely twisted Islam out of context and out of meaning.
this shouldn’t happen anymore. a girl anywhere in the world today should be safe to do what she wants.
posted by Claire on 7-28-2008 at 8:59 pm
I was going to comment, but Claire said what I was going to say and probably better than I could.
Go Mehbooba!
posted by Laurel on 7-28-2008 at 11:13 pm
Right on, Claire.
posted by Johnny Cat on 7-29-2008 at 12:26 am
It’s heartbreaking to hear this kind of intimidation and fear coming from such a once-beautiful land and culture that is so greatly twisted, as claire pointed out. I’ll definitely be rooting for Mehbooba when she runs, and I pray that she and her family find some respite from their own people afterwards.
I admire her bravery.
posted by heather on 7-29-2008 at 2:29 am
I wasn’t going to comment but had to because of the reCAPTCHA:
track guarantees
I hope for the best for Mehbooba and her family.
posted by KJ on 7-29-2008 at 6:54 am
I am not sure twisted is the right word to describe their culture. DIFFERENT is a better descriptor. Just because their culture and customs are different doesn’t make it twisted. Nor does it make ours superior.
No one is perfect, and the fact that Afghanistan has such a brave athelete shows that there is hope.
I applaud Mehooba in her endeavors, and I hope her country is proud of her when they see her compete against the other atheletes.
I wish Mehooba, and her family, all the best.
By the way, great work by Sam French and company. I’m sure NBC will have their own cheesy version of Mehooba’s story with the voice over coming from Bob Costas.
posted by The Other Brian on 7-29-2008 at 8:15 am
So basically she will not even be competing in the Olympics. What a sad tale. Don’t compete and you could live freely elsewhere but your family goes to jail. Do compete and you suffer daily harassment and your father goes to jail.
posted by Mike on 7-29-2008 at 8:51 am
Sad that this is a lose/lose situation.
But kudos to her and hopefully her story here (and elsewhere) will bring some help to her family.
posted by beth on 7-29-2008 at 9:32 am
I’d actually disagree with you, Other Brian. While I’m not trying to maliciously attack you, your unwillingness to pronounce something as bad really frightens me. I think many people are so concerned with being culturally accepting, they become incapable of condemning legitimately cruel, immoral, and yes, twisted, societies. The inability or unwillingness to recognize something as blatantly bad is relativism taken to its logical end, and results in ignoring things like the abuses of women (and men) in these countries.
In general, openess to other cultures is a good thing. But just as our culture has good points and bad points, so do other cultures, and recognizing these bad points in any culture may not be PC, but it is also healthy. It’s not being “superior”, but it is declaring the value of human rights as greater than cultural norms.
You are right that not everything in this story is an example of a “twisted” culture–I’d argue that her dress code, while really inconvenient, isn’t something that infringes upon her rights as a human. But slandering her and threatening her and her family’s lives for a harmless activity in the name of culture *is* twisted.
Don’t let your brain fall out in the name of open mindedness!
posted by kate on 7-29-2008 at 9:33 am
Oh, and best wishes to Mehooba and her family. Not only is Mehooba very brave, but her family is too, for continuing to support her in the face of opposition. Thanks for sharing her story, Sam.
posted by kate on 7-29-2008 at 9:48 am
Sorry if this is a double post, but best wishes to Mehooba and her family. Mehooba is obviously very brave, but I’m equally impressed with her family’s continued support of her in such a hostile environment. Thanks for the story, Sam.
posted by kate on 7-29-2008 at 9:56 am
Kate is completely right. The officials have gone above and beyond any sort of “culture” to infringe on the rights of this wonderful and brave person. They really should be ashamed of themselves.
posted by todd on 7-29-2008 at 10:12 am
thank you Kate. i couldn’t have said it better myself.
and other Brian you have every right to see things as different. but you have to agree people need to be treated better. that fear and intimidation is not the proper way to govern people.
posted by Claire on 7-29-2008 at 10:13 am
Bravo, Kate! Well said!
& to Sam & Co., great work, great story.
As for Mehooba & Family, I can only pray for their safety, & wish them the best.
posted by Kathryn on 7-29-2008 at 10:27 am
Kate, good points.
Contrary to your comments, I am not unwilling to acknowlege some aspects of their culture and actions as “bad”. I am only saying that how we describe other cultures should be tempered with compassion and understanding… Just because I may think their actions are demented doesn’t necessary make them so.
I am all for promoting human rights, equality, etc. At the same time, I am against forcing “western” cultural ideals and norms onto others. All too often, we see these as one in the same, that our way is the right way, and others must be assimilated.
What is good or bad almost entirely depends on your point of view. as for me, I think the treatment of Mehbooba and her family is terrible. I also think many aspects of their culture are demeaning, immoral, and unforgivable.
But, just as many others have done throughtout history, Mehbooba is going against the engrained cultural norms. In turn, many of her countrymen are shocked to see such “radical” actions on Mehbooba’s part. Their reactions should be expected — Any history book will reveal the exact same pattern when people are confronted with change.
I hope she endures and succeeds in opening her nations eyes to the many injustices and pushes them towards a righteous path.
posted by The Other Brian on 7-29-2008 at 10:38 am
Its heart-breaking to see such discrimination going on in the world. How can man be so stupid!
I wish her and her family the best.
posted by septer on 7-29-2008 at 10:44 am
Thanks for the great comments. I am very glad you liked the piece.
I think Kate and The Other Brian have hit squarely at the heart of the dialogue every Westerner must continue to develop as they work in this country. Where do you draw the line?
I must confess that I am outraged at some of the cultural practices I come into contact with, especially when it comes to women. However, the debate over whether it is “right” to intervene has been raging since the days of the “white man’s burden.” There are very good arguments on both sides, and it is wonderful that we are debating them with such eloquence here.
However, even if you were to be morally impelled to try to change the embedded cultural practices, in practice this raises a host of complications. Cultural change, in my experience, must come from within — attempting to impose outside moral values can serve to entrench embedded ones.
I would say that the best thing one can do for those within this kind of culture is to provide access to education, and offer alternative viewpoints (much like Mehbooba might have done). Moral condemnation can prove radicalizing.
I would love to continue this debate. Let’s hear your thoughts!
posted by Sam on 7-30-2008 at 6:06 am
The thing many of you fail to realize is that before the Soviets took control of the Government Afghanistan was considered too progressive by much of Islam, however still respected for the strength of most of their belief. Education was a major priority of the King and the Prime Minister before the Soviets had them killed and the country was emulating much of what the US had to offer that could still keep their beliefs strong. When the Taliban came to Afghanistan the country was rebuilding from years of occupation and repression so it was much like the way Hitler rose to power, preying on the fears of the country saying things like “If you dont side with us your wives and daughters will whores”, “Your sons will become rapists and gays”, and many such things that prey upon the fundamental belief system that change it to make it close to but quite a perverted form true Islam. Thus many of the Afghans of today lacking the education that would have been offered them had the King been living remain a socially stunted group. Now mind you, I am just talking about the Afghani who could not get the education they deserved but were brainwaished by the chauvanistic society the decidely un-Islamic view of the Taliban (Remember one fact kids, none of the Taliban leaders were Afghan). Sadly, this is what seperates the Afghans of today, progressive views fostered by the people who remember the King or Super-Conservative views held by the Taliban and their brainwashed thousands. All I can say is Mashallah for Mahbooba, and Insha’allah she will do her family and country proud even if they dont want her to compete, I hope she shows up and is able to place.
As-Salaam Alaykum,
Isaac
posted by Isaac on 8-8-2008 at 11:49 pm
Any updates on this???
posted by Jason! on 8-11-2008 at 3:55 pm
I just want to give kudos to everyone one this blog for discussing sensitive and personal issues with such eloquence and thoughtfulness. Considering all the ranting (and usually anonymous) heads out there, it’s very refreshing to see.
Also, Sam, great work once again.
Tom
posted by Tom on 8-15-2008 at 7:15 pm