Fatima Yousufi is a soccer player with the Afghanistan's Women's National Soccer Team
Fatima Yousufi is a 21-year-old soccer player who honed her skills on the field as a member of Afghanistan's Women's National Soccer Team before having to flee the Taliban in 2021. She found refuge in Australia where she was warmly welcomed by the Melbourne Victory Football Club, a home away from home for her and her teammates to continue to play. She uses her platform to advocate for women's rights and is extremely vocal on advancing opportunities for women in her Afghanistan.
Fatima's resilience and courage after fleeing the Taliban is a testament to the human spirit and its ability to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Fatima's story has been recognized by the New York Times in a recent article, further cementing her status as a role model and an inspiration to people everywhere.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
My name is Fatima Yousufi (Most of my teammates and friends know me as Fati) I am a 21-year-old girl from Afghanistan.
I was a student in year 11 before becoming a professional athlete. In 2017 I joined the U 17 women’s national soccer team. It's been 6 years that I have played for my country Afghanistan.
In August 2021 when the Taliban took over my country our team fled to Australia. Our lives were in great danger. Fortunately, by the help of AWNT former player Khalida Popal, who is based in Denmark and many other human right activists, we were able to flee our country safely to Australia.
I now live in Melbourne with most of my teammates. As a team we are playing as AWT Melbourne Victory by the help of Craig Foster and Melbourne Victory we were able to play as team together again, now it is our 2nd season in state league 3 in Victoria and being 1st in the ladder as it's midseason.
Tell us a bit about how you got started with football and what it was like playing with the Afghanistan National Women's Team:
I started playing soccer for fun. It was unexpected that I become an athlete and to play for Afghanistan as I didn’t know Afghanistan even had a women’s soccer team. I didn’t even know women were playing. My world was quite small. I was a student and had the dream of becoming a businesswoman, but I remember the day I saw some girls kicking the soccer ball around. They were having fun dribbling and shooting as I was staring at them. They needed one more player to join and they asked me. It all started from there. I got to know a lot about women in soccer and I found the passion in this game. I found the way to soccer by working hard and training with much discipline and finally, I made it to the national team. I had lots of experiences which made me more mature, and I wanted to use the sport for societal change too.
What happened in 2021 when the Taliban took over?
When the Taliban took over my country, we as women lost all our hopes and dreams in seeing our team in women world cup. When Taliban came, everything changed back to what it was like 20 years ago. We were in dark Afghanistan again, the Afghanistan that didn't have women as decision makers, an Afghanistan where there are no rights for women to get education or participate in sports. In 2021 the lives of many activists, professional athletes and reporters were in danger, so we had to flee to save our lives and continue to live in peace.
You were part of the largest rescue of athletes in history. Can you tell us a bit about why athletes were in danger and how you came to be rescued?
In a Muslim country like Afghanistan, changing a societal belief that sport is not for women was quite hard. As a professional athlete and an activist, we had the chance to prove sport is beyond those ideas and it's not about women or men, it's about humanity, passion, equality, change, unity, love for your country and respect. As me and my teammates profiles were well known, we were in great danger. The ideology of the Taliban is that women in sport is against Islamic ethics and that it is not right to let women continue playing a sport. We had to flee the country to be safe but also not to give up and continue our journey far from our homeland by being strong together.
Our rescue mission was made possible by change makers of other countries, who know one day we will become one of those changemakers and make a big change for our sisters and people around the world.
You and your teammates have settled in Melbourne and have started playing football, how does it feel to be able to play again?
The feeling of playing again and achieving what you lost is incredible, like winning a tough game. For me that day will remain in my heart forever. I promised myself when I was in Afghanistan that if I remain alive, I will be stronger than before and continue my passion and journey.
How can we help the cause for women in Afghanistan?
I believe for a better future, if we all stand in solidarity with women in Afghanistan, they have the chance to fight for their rights and not give up. I want people to help my voice be stronger and provide opportunities such as universities providing scholarships for those who don't have the opportunity or a company providing job opportunities for those who seek for work and a safe place. Let's take action before it’s too late. Imagine how wonderful it would be if you just help one person. This change will encourage others to help one person and so it continues.
What message do you want to send to women fighting for equality?
My message for those women who are fighting for equality is to keep fighting. We all deserve to have our dreams come true and to not be afraid of that first step. It's always hard to take the first step but do not think that you are not strong enough, have that courage and believe in yourself.
Interview Freya Bennett, Photographs Mia Mala McDonald