Zahra’s last name has been withheld to protect her identity and ensure the safety of her family in Afghanistan. She has approved the usage of her image.
ON AUGUST 9, 2021, Zahra’s family gathered at the airport in Kabul, Afghanistan, to see her off. She was making her way to the U.S. to pursue a master’s degree in finance as a Fulbright Scholar. Starting in May 2021, the Taliban had begun a sweeping, violent offensive across parts of the country. Zahra, 29, considered staying — it was troubling to see how active the terrorist group had become once again, but they all assumed Afghan forces would hold the line around Kabul.
Six days later, Zahra sat inside her student apartment in New Hampshire and watched in horror as the news reported Kabul had fallen to Taliban control. Not only did she fear for the safety of her friends and family, but she was also keenly aware that the Taliban regime forbids Afghan women from sports where their bodies might be seen.
“It was my saddest moment. I thought I lost everything. It didn’t matter to me that I’m here in the U.S. now. We lost everything so quickly,” Zahra said of the day Kabul was captured. “Now, whenever I’m thinking about Afghanistan, I see a broken country and the feeling of belonging nowhere.”
At first, she slept a lot. Worrying for her family and the pressure of her studies at Southern New Hampshire University consumed most of her energy. But she eventually found a tiny bit of solace in something she had discovered and loved at home, too — running. The New York City Marathon was three months away, and Zahra decided to run it.
This International Women’s Day and during Women’s History Month, ESPN shares Zahra’s story from the days leading up to the marathon, the race, and her life now as she awaits answers on her immigration status before graduation this spring.
Running for the girls and women who no longer have access to sport and education
Zahra was a toddler when the Taliban last captured control of Afghanistan in 1996. The extremist group kidnapped her father, beating and torturing him while the family frantically sold their belongings to get enough money to pay for his ransom. Upon his release, the family fled to Pakistan, returning to Afghanistan only after U.S. troops arrived in 2001. Her father now lives with the family in Kabul.
Fulbright scholars who are not U.S. citizens are traditionally required to return to their home country upon graduation to work in their field of study. Zahra, however, cannot safely return under Taliban rule. She graduates in April and, as of the time of publishing, does not know what will happen when her Visa expires.
A friend introduced Zahra to long-distance running in early 2018. She then joined Free to Run, a nonprofit focused on empowering women and girls around the world through sport. Zahra went on to finish two marathons in Afghanistan and a half Ironman in Dubai in February 2020 with the group.
At school, where she studies economics, Zahra distracts herself from the ache of missing her family and the worry for their safety by sharing laughs with her roommate and friends, swimming laps at the indoor pool on campus and spending time on her studies.
Zahra was accepted to study economics at Kabul University in 2009. She went on to manage a $100 million budget as a finance specialist in agriculture.
Outside of her professional work, an idea was bourn of her love for marathons and triathlons. Zahra and some of her female friends co-founded 7iStans, an organization that seeks to connect long distance runners across central Asia. She also mentored Afghan children through a nonprofit aimed at breaking generational poverty through education.
The day before the marathon, Zahra explored Manhattan with Free to Run staff members. “New York is a very cool city. There are people from different backgrounds … all kinds of people,” Zahra said. “And there are very tall buildings.”
Because cell phone service and internet in Kabul is unpredictable, Zahra only gets to talk to her family once or twice per week. They wake up at 2:00 a.m., when internet usage is low, to Zoom with her. Here, she takes a photo across the river from the Statue of Liberty to share with them.
“I was always thinking about New York as the city of opportunities. And it seems like that because people are doing everything that they want here. You can go for your dreams and the people who are coming here, they kind of have their own goals and they want to grab it and they want to work on it. This is so cool,” Zahra said.
On Nov. 7, 2021 — marathon morning, Zahra’s day began with a 5:00 a.m. bus ride to the starting line on Staten Island. Along with a change of clothes and energy gels, her pack contained a photo of her mother. Not being able to see and hug her mother has been the most challenging part of her time in the U.S., Zahra said.
Ahead of the marathon, her mind often drifted to her family. “My family is in Kabul, and they are going through financial hardships,” Zahra (seen in blue blanket) said. “They need money for their food and everything, and they are not working because they are jobless now, and we need to send some money for them. But how [do] we send it — is also a big question because their financial system there is not working well. There are many challenges in Afghanistan.”
In July 2016, Zahra was at a protest in Kabul’s Deh Mazang square when two suicide bombers detonated explosive belts. More than 80 people were killed. “If I died in that moment, no one would care that there was a Zahra. I wasn’t ready to die then,” she said.
Her favorite part of the route was the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in Staten Island. It’s the first of five bridges along the course, and despite its incline, Zahra said the view and the adrenaline from the start made it special. She was proud to be running alongside people from all over the world.
Zahra crossed the finish line of the 50th TCS New York City Marathon in 4:59:41. It was her personal best marathon time by 10 minutes. She finished 6,826th of 11,350 women. She was the only runner from Afghanistan.
Admiring the medal at the finish line, Zahra was emotional. She said she was thinking of her mother, wishing her family could have been there to celebrate with her.
Zahra said she drew her motivation by thinking of all the women and girls in Afghanistan who have lost their opportunity for sport and education — especially her infant niece, who may never know the Afghanistan in which Zahra grew up.
After the marathon, Zahra returned to school at Southern New Hampshire University. If Taliban control ends, Zahra dreams of returning to her home country to help build a viable economy and a strong financial system that pulls people from poverty. In the meantime, she hopes to work in a financial institution in the U.S. She still dreams of an Afghanistan where women and girls can work, seek an education and live freely. Her visa is set to expire upon the end of the spring term, and she still awaits word on what will happen then. Despite the uncertainty, she is focused on her studies and determined to be an example for other Afghan women and girls who dream of higher education.
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