Secret evacuation of Afghan women’s cycling team documented in new film

A secret operation to evacuate the Afghan women’s cycling team from Kabul in August 2021 has been detailed in a new documentary produced by RTS, LCP, and FRANCE 24. The film, reported by journalists Matteo Born and Alain Rimbert, examines the clandestine efforts to extract professional athletes from the capital following the Taliban’s seizure of power.

The evacuation was coordinated by an Israeli-Canadian philanthropist and cycling enthusiast who devised a plan to smuggle the team out of the country. The operation received support from the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world’s cycling governing body, alongside various non-governmental organisations and global activists.

The urgency of the mission was driven by the Taliban’s imposition of a strict interpretation of Islamic law. Under the new regime, women’s cycling was banned and deemed a source of dishonour, with violations punishable by death. The Afghan women’s team, founded in 2010 and scheduled for international competition, was identified as a specific target for the regime’s crackdown on what it termed “deviant” practices.

To escape the threat, the cyclists were transported out of Afghanistan via Tajikistan and Albania before reaching Europe. The documentary follows the journey of the exfiltrated athletes and includes interviews with the individuals who facilitated the complex logistical operation.

The film serves as a record of an unprecedented attempt to protect sportspeople from systemic persecution. It highlights the intersection of international sporting governance and humanitarian intervention in the immediate aftermath of the Taliban’s takeover, which ended 20 years of war and abruptly dashed hopes for emancipation in Afghanistan.