A female paraglider, now living in exile in Pakistan, dreams of one day being able to teach the sport to girls in Afghanistan.
Lida Hoozori, who fled Afghanistan due to the Taliban’s restrictions, continues to pursue her paragliding career in Islamabad, Pakistan. Despite the challenges, she has represented Afghan women in two paragliding festivals.
“I hope for a day when I can have training clubs in Afghanistan and teach paragliding to other Afghan girls,” Hoozori said.
The Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan cast a dark shadow over the lives of Afghan women and girls. Hoozori migrated to Pakistan, where she found an opportunity to continue her education and sports.
Practicing sports as an Afghan girl in Pakistan has not been without difficulties. “When I came to Pakistan, we became refugees. I experienced how difficult it is to be a refugee here. I was a free bird that used to fly. For more than four months, I was at home trying to find a flying site and paragliders in Pakistan,” Hoozori recounted. “Fortunately, I found them and started flying again. There was initially only one girl in the paragliding team, but gradually, more girls joined.”
Hoozori began paragliding in 2015, overcoming numerous obstacles and traditional challenges. She describes herself as a bird flying high in the sky, reaching for her dreams. Now, she aims to teach this sport to other Afghan girls.
“I participated in one competition and two festivals here. The competition was a friendly one, and I represented Afghanistan in the festivals organized for all pilots,” she said.
Paragliding is a recreational and thrilling sport, practiced by flying with a parachute. Under the Taliban’s restrictive regime, Afghan women and girls have been deprived of participating in sports.
