Robina Jalali, also known as Robina Muqimyar (born 3 July 1986), is a former Olympic athlete who represented Afghanistan at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and in 30 international events competing in the 100-meter sprint.
[Athlete biography: Robina Muqimyar](_blank)
, beijing2008.cn, ret: 27 August 2008 She competed athletically under the name Muqimyar and ran for a seat in the lower house of Afghanistan's parliament, the
Wolesi Jirga
The House of Representatives of the People, or Da Afghanistan Wolesi Jirga ( ps, دَ افغانستان ولسي جرګه), was the lower house of the bicameral National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, alongside the upper Hous ...
, using her family name of Jalali.
She attracted international attention for running while wearing the
hijab
In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
, the traditional Muslim woman's head covering.
and because she was one of the first two women ever to represent Afghanistan at the
Olympic Games
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
, by competing along with
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponi ...
ka
Friba Razayee
Friba Rezayee ( prs, فریبا رضایی) (born September 3, 1985) is an Afghan judoka, who is perhaps best known as one of the first two women athletes from Afghanistan to compete in the Summer Olympics. The Taliban controlling most of Afghan ...
at the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
in Athens.
Jalali was born in
Kabul, Afghanistan
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
, and is one of nine children (seven girls and two boys). Her father was a businessman in the computer industry who now runs a non-profit company that teaches Afghan women how to sew.
Jalali was home schooled during the era of the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
when schooling for girls was forbidden. She attended school after 2001.
Describing life under the
Taliban
The Taliban (; ps, طالبان, ṭālibān, lit=students or 'seekers'), which also refers to itself by its state (polity), state name, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a Deobandi Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist, m ...
, she has said: "There was nothing for us
girls to do under the Taliban. You couldn't go to school. You couldn't play, you couldn't do anything. You were just at home all the time."
2004 Olympics
Muqimyar took part in the women's 100m sprint. She finished seventh out of eight in her heat, with a time of 14.14 seconds, 0.15 seconds ahead of
Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
's
Fartun Abukar Omar. The race was won by
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
's
Veronica Campbell
Veronica Campbell-Brown CD ( Campbell; born 15 May 1982) is a retired Jamaican track and field sprinter, who specialized in the 100 and 200 meters. , with a time of 11.17 seconds. Muqimyar was 17 at the time of the event. She ran in "a T-shirt and long green track pants" rather than more aerodynamic competition clothing.
2008 Olympics
She was not initially due to compete in the
2008 Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Nati ...
in Beijing,
["Afghan Athletes Train for Beijing Olympic "]
Afghan embassy to the United States, 29 April 2008 but joined
Afghanistan's delegation after female sprinter
Mehboba Ahdyar left her training camp in June to seek
political asylum
The right of asylum (sometimes called right of political asylum; ) is an ancient juridical concept, under which people persecuted by their own rulers might be protected by another sovereign authority, like a second country or another enti ...
in Norway. At the
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...
she took part at the
100 metres
The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...
sprint. In her first round heat she placed eighth and last in a time of 14.80 which was not enough to advance to the second round.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' described her as a true embodiment of the Olympic spirit:
:''"The
Olympic rings
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...
are the most recognised symbol on the planet and every corporate player wants to turn the Games into an advert for soft drinks and credit cards. Yet despite the drug scandals and excess there are still athletes who embody the Olympic spirit. So meet the Afghan sprinter who had to hide from the Taliban, the
Brazilian gymnast from the ghetto and the
Ecuadorean walker who made a 459km pilgrimage after his first gold medal. They may not all win, but they all deserve our admiration."
["True Olympians"](_blank)
''The Guardian'', 1 August 2004
Political career
She ran for office as an independent, on a platform of equal rights for women and youth, in the
September 2010 parliamentary election.
She said she would promote school athletics in Afghanistan if she won a seat,
but was not elected.
In 2019 she was elected as a member of parliament. Her term was cut short by the fall of the Afghan government on 15 August 2021, as the
Taliban took the power.
Since August 2021, there is (as of 29 August) no trace of her.
FAZ.net
(German)
See also
* Lima Azimi
* Friba Razayee
Friba Rezayee ( prs, فریبا رضایی) (born September 3, 1985) is an Afghan judoka, who is perhaps best known as one of the first two women athletes from Afghanistan to compete in the Summer Olympics. The Taliban controlling most of Afghan ...
* Mareena Karim
* Mehboba Ahdyar
References
External links
*
Official website
Facebook Robina Jalali
(Slide show)
''Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'', 11 April 2004
"Athlete Biography"
Beijing 2008 official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muqimyar, Robina
1986 births
Afghan female sprinters
Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics
Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Living people
Olympic athletes of Afghanistan
Sportspeople from Kabul
21st-century Afghan women politicians
21st-century Afghan politicians
Afghan sportsperson-politicians
Members of the House of the People (Afghanistan)
Olympic female sprinters