“I feel like I'm in the middle of Kabul and can't move from my house even though I'm in France” | EUROtoday

Le Point spoke with Marzieh Hamidi, an Afghan taekwondo athlete who has been a refugee in France for 3 years. After talking out in opposition to the therapy of girls in Afghanistan, Marzieh Hamidi has since been cyber-harassed and threatened with loss of life. Forced to depart her house within the Paris area, the athlete fears for her security, which is compromised.

The Point: What do you suppose triggered the threats you’re receiving?

Marzieh Hamidi: The cause I obtained loss of life and rape threats is as a result of I stand in opposition to terrorists and their supporters following a put up on my social media. I didn’t count on such an outpouring of hatred, I had simply denounced the Afghan males's cricket staff for not standing as much as the Taliban, and actually refused to applaud them.

The strategies of those people are harking back to these of the Taliban, what do you suppose?

For me, they’re Taliban with totally different garments. They have the identical ideology about ladies's freedom and so they can't stand {that a} free lady like me speaks the reality and opposes the Taliban. We have to be conscious that to be Taliban, you don't all the time should have the identical garments and the identical model, the talib is a mind-set that may be discovered in every single place and now in France, in Europe, there are literally thousands of them. And I fear about how the federal government can management this. I really feel like I used to be in Kabul when the Taliban arrived. Today, I really feel like I'm in the midst of Kabul and I can't transfer from my home whereas I'm in France.

The overwhelming majority of them are demanding an apology from you. Will you give in?

They don't ask me to apologize, they threaten me, they insult me, they threaten me with loss of life and rape. They need me to maintain quiet, as they do with all ladies. I’ll by no means preserve quiet. For ladies's freedom. My lawyer Inès Davau and my communicator Baptiste Berard Proust archive the hundreds of messages I obtain, each are appalled by the horror of the feedback made. One of them explains for instance that he desires to chop off “my body and my vagina”, one other tells me that he managed to get my tackle in France…

Have you obtained assist from feminist figures or associations?

I’ve seen messages of assist on X however few private messages, even when Minister Aurore Berger gave me her assist and that warmed my coronary heart. But I nonetheless obtain lots of insults and threats and that worries me, in fact… I name on feminists to get up and arise straight! Because that’s not the case for the time being and it’s incomprehensible to me.

What fears do you may have in the present day for your self and your loved ones in Afghanistan?

Unfortunately I can't reply this query for safety causes, however I'm clearly very fearful for them…

What message would you wish to ship to France?

My message to France and the French folks is to cease the terrorists earlier than the scenario will get worse. I’m an instance, if I communicate out in opposition to the terrorists, they wish to silence me. I wish to inform the French folks to not allow them to destroy tradition and society with their ideology. Let's act earlier than this occurs to different ladies.