Despite a light drizzle, a smile occasionally flits across the faces of Nazima and Nazira Khairzad as the two sportswomen from Afghanistan stroll through a park in the German city of Hanau, near Frankfurt.

Nazima was a successful ski racer and mountaineer in her home country, while her sister Nazira was a goalkeeper for the women's national football team. They had to flee Afghanistan in 2021 after the Taliban came to power again, and have now been living together in Germany for nine months. Nazira initially ended up in Italy after fleeing, while her sister Nazima, who is two years older, eventually came to Germany via Pakistan.

"I am very proud of my sister, she is my role model and my best friend," Nazira tells DW. "It was a difficult time. We haven't been able to see each other for a long time, but now we're happy to be reunited."

Sport goes against despite traditional and cultural norms

Since August 2021, the situation for women and girls in Afghanistan has deteriorated dramatically. They are systematically oppressed and are not allowed to attend secondary school, study, work or play sports.

"I still can't believe what has happened," says Nazima. "Even before the Taliban, the situation for women was not good. Many were housewives and had to do what their parents told them. They had no life, they were just alive and weren't allowed to decide anything for themselves."

Nazima did not want to live like this. Even as a young girl, she defied the traditional and cultural norms in her province of Bamiyan in the highlands of Afghanistan. "I always wanted to be different," says the now 22-year-old. "I've always loved breaking the rules. I wanted to live my life the way I wanted and, above all, play sport."

Even before the Taliban came to power, sport was not a natural activity for women and girls in Afghanistan. Nevertheless, the sisters started playing football in 2014 — initially against their parents' will, but then with their consent. They initially went to training in secret, Nazira reports. It only came out a year later.

Nazima: 'Many women get depressed'

Two years on, the sisters also discovered skiing for themselves. They climbed up the snow-covered mountains in Bamiyan — there was no lift at the time — and skied back down again. They were ambitious and trained whenever possible. A few years later, Nazima made history when she won the first international medal in alpine skiing for Afghanistan at a competition in neighboring Pakistan.

In 2021, she and Tamara Jahan became the first Afghan women to climb Shah Fuladi. At just over 5,000 meters, the mountain is the highest peak in central Afghanistan. Nazima has become a role model for thousands of girls and now campaigns for women's rights in her country from afar. 

Her sister Nazira is also making a career in sport. As a goalkeeper, she made it into the Afghan national team. "Football is something special for me. It has made me strong," says the 20-year-old. She is very proud of herself, says Nazira. "But I'm also proud of the other girls who played football with me, because it was never easy to play it as a woman in Afghanistan."

Since 2021, however, the team is no more and the dream of a freer Afghanistan has been shattered. Following the chaotic withdrawal of international troops from the country and the Taliban's return to power in August 2021, sport has been banned for women. Many of Nazima's teammates have since been able to leave the country, but some have had to stay in Afghanistan.

"It's very hard for me when I think about my teammates," says the 22-year-old. "Many of them get married or get depressed." Nazira and her sister are still in regular contact with some of them.

Desperate situation for women in Afghanistan

"You can't go outside without a hijab or burqa," explains Nazira. "Some of my friends killed themselves last year because they were depressed.” Nazira's voice falters because she can't help her friends. Nevertheless, both sisters try to be encouraging, especially towards women and girls in Afghanistan.

"I try to give them positive energy and raise my voice so that they are not forgotten," says Nazima. When the skier looks at old pictures from the past today, she becomes thoughtful and sad. Back then, women at least had a bit of freedom, she remarks. "Compared to the situation today, it was still OK."

After their walk through Hanau, the sisters warm up in a small café on the outskirts of the city center. They are happy to be in Germany now and no longer have to be afraid. For a long time, their everyday life in Germany was filled with worry about their relatives back home. However, the sisters' family has now also managed to leave Afghanistan. They had held out in the capital, Kabul, for months, waiting for the right moment to flee.

"When my parents were in Afghanistan, their lives were in danger because my sister and I played sports," remembers Nazira. Her sister says: "They were one of the few families in Afghanistan who allowed their daughters to study and play sport." 

Nazima: 'Women are stronger than men'

Now that the whole family has been reunited in Germany, the sportswomen are also trying to continue their careers. They give interviews and never miss an opportunity to draw attention to the situation of women in Afghanistan.

Sport, say Nazima and Nazira, gives them hope and strength and keeps their belief in a better future in their home country alive.

"The situation in Afghanistan is very difficult. But I hope that women stay strong," says Nazima. "I am sure that the situation will change again in the future, especially for women. At some point, they will have the same rights and be able to live as they want."

This is because women, the 22-year-old is certain, are stronger than men anyway.

This article was originally written in German.