Sadaf Rahimi is an

Afghan Afghan or Afgan may refer to: Related to Afghanistan *Afghans, historically refers to the Pashtun people. It is both an ethnicity and nationality. Ethnicity wise, it refers to the Pashtuns. In modern terms, it means both the citizens of Afghanist ...

boxer. She was the first Afghan female boxer to be invited to the 2012 London Olympics, and the first female boxer on Afghanistan's national boxing team.

Life

Rahimi and her siblings spent much of their childhood in Iran; their parents fled Afghanistan to Iran following the rise of the Taliban in 1990s. While living in Iran, she started boxing at age 14 after she watched

Laila Ali Laila Amaria Ali (born December 30, 1977) is an American television personality and retired professional boxer who competed from 1999 to 2007. During her career, from which she retired undefeated, she held the World Boxing Council, WBC, Women's ...

box in a competition. After returning to Afghanistan with her family in 2007, Rahimi was coached by Saber Sharifi, a former male professional boxer, who as of 2012 trained 30 Afghan girls and young women in Kabul's Ghazi stadium. In order to train, Rahimi had to gain permission from her family; however, Rahimi’s family was very supportive of her decision to box. Rahimi trained three days a week for an hour in the Ghazi stadium and also practiced in her home. She was careful to conceal her identity as a boxer while traveling to and from practice, as passersby would threaten her if they discovered she was a boxer. At the age of 17, Rahimi was given a wildcard to compete in the London 2012 Olympics. Unfortunately, due to her safety in the ring the International Boxing Association (AIBA) decided that Rahimi should not compete. In 2013, Rahimi was invited to attend a competition in the UK by the Women in Sport association; she did not attend, after paperwork allowing her to travel to the UK did not come through. Rahimi continued to receive threats, and rumors were started that she was having sexual relationships with trainers. Rahimi failed to qualify for the 2016 Rio Olympics. In July 2016, Rahimi and one of her older sisters, Shabnam, also a boxer, fled Afghanistan, citing the Taliban's actions against women. The two traveled to Spain under the pretenses of attending the premier of ''

The Boxing Girls of Kabul ''The Boxing Girls of Kabul'' is a 2012 Canadian documentary film directed by Ariel Nasr. The film follows young women boxers, under which Sadaf Rahimi, and their coach Sabir Sharifi at Afghanistan’s female boxing academy, as these athletes face ...

''. They stayed with the film's directors in Spain for two months while claiming

asylum Asylum may refer to: Types of asylum * Asylum (antiquity), places of refuge in ancient Greece and Rome * Benevolent asylum, a 19th-century Australian institution for housing the destitute * Cities of Refuge, places of refuge in ancient Judea * ...

. In 2018, they received residency permits in Spain. As of 2019, Rahimi was worked as a cleaner at Madrid City Hall.

Media appearances

Rahimi’s and other Afghan female boxers’ story was told in a documentary film, ''

'', which was directed by

Ariel Nasr Ariel Nasr is a Canadian documentary film director.

and produced by Annette Clarke for the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahimi, Sadaf 1990s births Year of birth missing (living people) Living people 21st-century Afghan sportswomen Afghan expatriates in Spain Afghan refugees Afghan women boxers Refugees in Spain