In a heavily guarded sports complex in Kabul, Afghanistan, loud thumps echo from the hall as young girls grab their partners by the arms and hurl them onto a thin mat covering the carpeted concrete floor. At times, some of the girls pause to adjust their headscarves, partially covering their all-white judo uniforms, while others have not covered their heads at all. This, despite the fact that their trainer is a man.
Afghanistan, a country that is often in the headlines for its dismal record with women’s rights, is perhaps the last place on earth where one would expect to find enthusiastic girls practicing a combat sport and dreaming of making it to the Olympics one day. But in Kabul, increasing numbers of girls have been flocking to judo classes.
During the extremist Taliban regime in the 1990s, girls and women were not allowed to participate in sports. But in 2002, a year after the fall of the regime, the Afghan Judo Federation started training girls again with the support of the Norwegian Embassy in Kabul.
Girls’ trainers were brought in from Norway, and the first training sessions were held in an orphanage in Kabul. “Most of the girls were themselves orphans, but some came from outside as well,” Farhad Hazrati, Deputy Head of the Afghan Judo Federation, explains. It didn’t take long for these judokas to become famous: In 2004 Fariba Rezayee—18 at the time—was selected to represent Afghanistan in the Summer Olympics in Athens. Ever since, judo has, surprisingly, become one of the most popular sports among girls in Afghanistan—a country where even riding a bicycle is not considered appropriate for women.
Because of the popularity of the sport, even many regular schools in Kabul now provide judo classes for girls.
Zarina Sahibi, 15, also first heard about judo at school and quickly joined the classes. Only a year and a half later, she is one of the most promising young judokas of Afghanistan, with five national girls’ judo championship medals under her belt.
A wide smile spreads across her face when she talks about her successes and dreams for the future. “The best thing about judo is the competitions and the winning. I want to compete in the Olympics; that is my dream. I am ready for it,” she tells GOOD.
[quote position="right" is_quote="true"]Judo (is) one of the most popular sports among girls in Afghanistan … where even riding a bicycle is not considered appropriate for women.[/quote]
Traditionally, Afghan families often give more importance to their sons than their daughters. Girls are usually expected to take care of household chores, and conservative families do not always allow their daughters to go to school. But Zarina’s family—especially her father—is now extremely proud of her success and supports her completely. “My standing in the family became much better after I started winning in competitions,” she says.
Nevertheless, some of her relatives still try to discourage her. “They will say to my father things like, ‘Don’t let your daughter go that far away, something bad might happen to her,’ but my father says ‘She’s my daughter, it’s not your problem.’” It is not so much the judo that concerns Zarina’s relatives, but the fact that she has to travel to another part of the city to get to her training. They fear she might get harassed on the way and it would ruin her reputation in the community.
To encourage parents to allow their daughters to join judo practices, the federation provides transportation to the sports complex free of charge, Hazrati says.
But some of the parents are still apprehensive about letting their daughters participate in sports. “My parents thought it would be dangerous, because they hadn’t seen women practice judo before,” Nargis Amiri, 16, tells GOOD. But luckily, Nargis’ brother was practicing boxing and managed to convince their father. Today, after seven years of practice, Nargis is a two-time national champion.
“Most girls have difficulties getting permission from their parents. But when the parents see the improvement in their girls, then they say it’s ok,” Baz Mohammad, the girls’ trainer, says.
Zarina says she has grown in confidence and no longer feels afraid when she walks alone in the streets of Kabul. “It is all because of judo,” she says.
Sunita Mubariz, 26, agrees. “I feel physically much more powerful, and that has given me self-confidence. I can feel something good is happening inside me.”
Sometimes the parents even come to visit the trainings to see what goes on there. But there have been cases where the parents have not been impressed. “Some families actually stopped their girls from coming here after they saw that there’s a male trainer,” Mohammad says.
Female judo trainers are scarcely available in Afghanistan. Mubariz dreams of becoming one soon. “Judo is very good for girls in Afghanistan because if there is a problem when a girl goes outside, she will know how to defend herself.” Mubariz has, however, never been in a threatening situation herself. But the social pressure that is put on women in Afghanistan is often enough to deal with. “If we wanted to fight, we would have to fight every day,” she says.
Kabul is relatively progressive when compared with other provinces. Aside from the capital, girls currently practice judo only in Mazar-e-Sharif, a city in the north. “People have a different way of thinking (in the provinces). It is very difficult to convince them there,” Hazrati explains.
Meanwhile in the capital, the judo federation’s girls are leading by example.
“Actually, girls are often better at judo than boys,” says Mohammad. “They are very passionate and focused, because when they get to leave the house they finally feel free.”
Safa Safar, who at 11 is one of the youngest girls training at the center, now teaches her little brother judo moves at home. When asked what she wants to become when she grows up, she confidently replies, “I want to be a judoka.”
Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.