(March 7, 2025) - Para Taekwondo athlete Zakia Khudadadi has won the International Paralympic Committee’s (IPC’s) prestigious International Women’s Day Recognition Award in the Emerging Leader category.   

 

The Award recognises Khudadadi’s outstanding achievements in Para Taekwondo including a historic bronze medal at the Paralympic Games Paris 2024, and her demonstrable advocacy for women’s right to access sport in Afghanistan.

 

Khudadadi fled to France shortly before the Paralympic Games in Tokyo following the Taliban’s takeover, but she showed tremendous resilience to become the first female athlete from Afghanistan to compete at the Paralympic Games for 16 years.

 

She used her increased global prominence from Tokyo 2020 to advocate for women’s rights in Afghanistan, including the right to access sport.

 

While continuing to champion gender equality at every opportunity, Khudadadi continued to make more history on the field of play. At Paris 2024 representing the Refugee Paralympic Team, she earned its first-ever medal at the Games with a bronze in the women’s -47kg K44 competition.

 

Following her success, she expressed hope that her example could inspire Afghan women and girls to practice sport.

 

World Taekwondo was delighted to nominate Khudadadi for the IPC’s International Women’s Day Recognition Award, and is proud of her leadership in serving as a voice for inclusiveness and a role model for women and girls from around the world.

 

Zakia Khudadadi said “Thank you for choosing me as Emerging Leader for the IPC International Women’s Day Recognition Award 2025. This is a great honour for me and the women of Afghanistan. I am very happy, and everything feels like a dream, but it is indeed a reality - Afghan women stand bravely against oppression, demanding freedom not as a wish, but as an undeniable right. Their voices cannot be silenced, as they come from hearts that beat for a brighter tomorrow. A special thank you to the IPC for striving to showcase inspiring figures to the world.”

 

World Taekwondo remains committed to using Taekwondo as a tool for women’s empowerment and is determined to build on its achievements, which include becoming the first sport to have an equal number of male and female referees at an Olympic Games at Rio 2016.

 

Click here for the IPC article on this topic