ALI ZADA Masomah

11 Mar 1996
25
Female
Olympic Scholarship
 
Afghanistan
LILLE
 
France

Events and Medals

Discipline Event Rank Medal
CRD Cycling Road Women's Individual Time Trial 25

Schedule

Change
Start Time Location Event Status
Fuji International Speedway
Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

:
Athlete, Student
:
Civil Engineering - University of Lillle, France
:
French
:
Her sister Zahra has taken part in international cycling events. (marca.com, 11 Jan 2021)
:
She began cycling at high school while she was growing up in the Islamic Republic of Iran. (actu.fr, 12 Jun 2021; marca.com, 11 Jan 2021)
:
"On a bike, you have the feeling of freedom. Nobody tells you that you can't do this or that because you are a woman. I have never found a sport that suits me so much." (actu.fr, 12 Jun 2021; marca.com, 11 Jan 2021)
:
To compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (marca.com, 11 Jan 2021)

General Interest

General
FROM AFGHANISTAN TO FRANCE
Born in Afghanistan, her family moved to the Islamic Republic of Iran in about 1996 due to political unrest. The family returned to Afghanistan when Masomah was age 10, but she faced insults when she would go cycling and would have stones or fruit thrown at her. In 2016 she and her sister Zahra took part in a race in Albi, France, and were featured in a documentary named 'The Little Queens of Kabul'. A French lawyer took note of how difficult it was for the sisters to pursue cycling in Afghanistan, and helped them and their family to claim asylum in France. They were accepted in 2017 and moved to Lille. "In Afghanistan I couldn't cycle like in Iran - it was forbidden. I never saw a girl on a bike, let alone in sporty clothes. At the time not many girls cycled, and people were violent when they saw us. They thought it was against our culture, and our religion, but that's not true. It's just that it was weird for them to see a woman on a bike for the first time. I have never given up cycling. On the contrary, I want to encourage girls to do it, and to normalise women's cycling in Afghanistan." (actu.fr, 12 Jun 2021; infomigrants.net, 06 Jun 2021; marca.com, 11 Jan 2021)

CULTURAL DIFFERENCES
She has chosen to wear her veil while competing in cycling. "People do make comments about my veil. They ask me if I'm not too hot. You should never stop educating people. I live in Lille alone, my parents are in Orleans, and my father always told me that it was up to me to decide whether or not I wanted to wear the veil. That's something people don't understand." (actu.fr, 12 Jun 2021)

Legend
:
Gold Medal Event
:
Silver Medal Event
:
Bronze Medal Event
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