Zakia Khudadadi, the Afghan para-taekwondo champion who has taken refuge in France (1/4)

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00:0025-year-old Zakia Hudadadi could be the first ever Paralympic medallist from Afghanistan.

00:11Zakia was born in Herat with just one functional arm and she's fighting for a lot more than

00:16just a medal.

00:19It's very different here compared to Afghanistan. In Afghanistan I trained in a nine square

00:23metre room. It's a lot bigger here. Aside from sport, my work, I consider myself a feminist.

00:32I'm fighting for the rights of Afghan women in my country.

00:39Zakia fled the Taliban two years ago and found refuge at France's prestigious sports institute

00:43known as INSEP.

00:45When you push her, she's a machine, both physically and mentally. On top of that, she

00:52can do anything. Her technique is really impressive.

01:00As well as her training, Zakia takes four French classes per week.

01:14With French journalists, I spoke without a translator. I answered all the questions

01:30in French. But sometimes when I talk to people, it can be a bit of an issue.

01:42The first time she came into this room, we spoke a bit of English, but she was very shy.

01:48We took it from there. It's been a spectacular improvement.

01:54Zakia was initially unable to flee Afghanistan and had to train in hiding. But after a video

01:58she released went viral, she was exfiltrated from the country just in time for the Tokyo

02:02Games.

02:0342 hours after the publication of this video, she was airlifted to safety by the Australian

02:26Air Force.

02:28It was a difficult day for me, for my heart. I won't forget it.

02:34Zakia would have liked to represent her new home, France, for these Paralympic Games,

02:38but was unable to obtain citizenship in time. Instead, she'll be competing with the IOC's

02:43refugee team, a chance for her, she says, to advocate for women from around the world.

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