Showing results by author "Khalida Popal" in All Categories

As a refugee in Denmark, Khalida Popal worked to uncover widespread sexual abuse of players by the former president of the Afghanistan Football Federation - forcing FIFA and the government of Afghanistan to act. When Kabul falls Khalida is safe, but her teammates are left behind. Against all the odds, she and a small but mighty network of allies orchestrate an international evacuation strategy to save them. My Beautiful Sisters is a gripping memoir about courage, the power of teamwork against all odds and the existence of hope in dark times.

In August 2021, Kabul fell under the control of the Taliban, a militant political and fundamentalist religious faction. For Khalida Popal, it signaled the beginning of the most important battle of an already extraordinary young life—to get female soccer players out of a city where they faced imminent threat of execution simply for playing sports. Khalida first began playing soccer in a refugee camp in Pakistan after her parents fled Taliban rule. Returning to Afghanistan, she fell deeper in love with the freedom and comradeship soccer provides.

Khalida Popal var med til at grundlægge det afghanske kvindefodboldlandshold og var holdets første anfører. Som barn flygtede hun sammen med sin familie fra Taliban og voksede op i en flygtningelejr i Pakistan. Da hun senere vendte hjem til Afghanistan, gav fodbolden hende og hendes holdkammerater styrke, kammeratskab og frihed. Men fordi hun kæmpede for kvinders rettigheder inden for sport, bragte hun sit liv i fare og måtte flygte påny, denne gang alene.