Marzieh Hamidi, born in Iran in 2002 to a family of Afghan exiles, is an elite taekwondo
athlete and a powerful voice for women’s rights. She spent her childhood between Iran
and Afghanistan, and was in Kabul when the Taliban seized power in August 2021. To
secure her future in sport and escape growing repression, she was forced to flee, a
departure made possible thanks to the support of ELLE magazine. Rebuilding her life in
France, she now trains at INSEP with the French national team.
Far from becoming an activist, Marzieh has been deeply committed to the fight for
women’s rights from a very young age. Her voice, sharp and courageous, has made her
a symbol of resistance against oppression. She speaks out on the international stage,
from the French National Assembly to UNESCO, to denounce the Taliban and defend
the rights and freedom of young women.
Her strength and integrity have captured international attention, with features in
Vanity Fair, Le Figaro, L’Équipe, CNN and others.
Since September 2024, Marzieh has been living under 24/7 police protection in France
due to explicit threats of death and rape, delivered online and by phone, directly linked
to her activism. These threats are now the subject of an ongoing investigation.
Despite the danger, she refuses to be silenced. Through both sport and advocacy, she
continues to fight for justice, for freedom, and for every young woman who dares to
raise her voice.
In September 2025, she released her book “Ils n’auront pas mon silence” co-written
with Baptiste Bérard Proust and published by Robert Laffont, one of the France’s
leading publishing houses.
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