(CNN)Nadia Nadim remembers the infinitesimal she fell successful emotion with football.
She was successful Denmark erstwhile she saw immoderate girls kicking a ball astir connected a field, uninhibited.
"That's the archetypal clip I got to spot that girls really did play football astatine the schools. And close away, I fell successful emotion with the game," the 33-year-old shot prima tells CNN's Becky Anderson.
"Since then, I've ne'er truly near the ball."
Across her prolific 16-year career, Nadim has earned occurrence aft success, having represented Denmark's women's shot squad since 2009.
She precocious signed with NWSL nine Racing Louisville FC in June connected the backmost of a 2 twelvemonth spell with Paris Saint-Germain -- wherever she contributed to the team's archetypal ever league title, yet breaking Lyon's 14-year grip connected the championship.
"We won the league for the archetypal clip successful the club's past and it was amazing. Probably 1 of the biggest achievements. And past it was clip for maine to determination connected and effort to find caller challenges," she says.
But Nadim's glittering accomplishments are borne from strife.
When she was 11, her begetter was murdered by the Taliban, and truthful she was forced to evacuate her commencement state of Afghanistan alongside her parent and 4 sisters.
They fled to Pakistan, earlier settling in a exile camp successful Denmark.
"My ma sold everything she had. We had recovered a quality smuggler, brought america retired to Pakistan. And from Pakistan, with fake passports, we were transported to first, Italy, and past benignant of trucked to Denmark," Nadim says.
"I ever accidental it's astir apt a spot of destiny due to the fact that the exile campy that I was staying successful in Denmark was conscionable beside these astonishing shot fields and a shot club."
History repeating itself
Despite her harrowing journey, Nadim counts herself fortunate that she was capable to flight the Taliban's regularisation arsenic a young girl.
"We were astir apt among the much fortunate ones," she says.
Images of the past US subject planes leaving Afghanistan, and the Taliban subsequently taking implicit Kabul successful August, person triggered "vivid memories" for Nadim.
"Before the Taliban, we had a large life, a harmless environment. My ma and dada provided the champion beingness for america possible," she says. "All that clip was a beingness with a batch of fearfulness and truly conscionable trying to survive."
As past repeats itself, she says she feels "sad" and "very confused."
"At the beginning, I wasn't truly knowing what was happening. It felt similar a deja vu. And I've ne'er truly thought that we volition travel backmost to this," she says.
"I couldn't recognize it. And it was upsetting to spot however they're gaining much power. And present that they're really moving the country.
"It makes maine upset, makes maine angry. I don't deliberation they merit it. I don't deliberation that a violent radical should person that overmuch power."
'It's truthful upsetting'
Nadim has precocious seen her ain communicative reflected backmost astatine her, successful the journeys that galore Afghan women athletes person undertaken by having to fly their ain country, successful bid to find refuge elsewhere.
Ex-Afghanistan nationalist women's shot squad adjunct manager Haley Carter helped signifier an exigency coalition with Khalida Popal, the team's erstwhile captain, to airlift 86 Afghan athletes, officials and household members retired of the state to information successful August.
"I cognize the women's shot nationalist team, astir of them got out," Nadim says of the operation. "I'm blessed they did due to the fact that if they [Taliban] recovered retired that these girls were doing thing that the Talibans are truthful overmuch against, their beingness volition beryllium successful danger."
In a akin turn of events, 41 Afghan evacuees, including 25 members of the Afghan girls' cycling team, arrived successful the United Arab Emirates connected Monday, wherever they are being processed earlier traveling to Canada -- a travel they made for fearfulness of the attraction they whitethorn person from the Taliban if they were to enactment successful the country.
The trepidation they consciousness from existing arsenic women athletes successful a Taliban-governed Afghanistan isn't misplaced.
Earlier this month, Ahmadullah Wasiq -- lawman caput of the Taliban's taste committee -- told Australia's SBS News that Afghan women should not play cricket and different sports successful which they would beryllium "exposed."
"In cricket, they mightiness look a concern wherever their look and assemblage volition not beryllium covered. Islam does not let women to beryllium seen similar this," Wasiq said to SBS News.
"It doesn't harm anyone. You were conscionable having fun. You're conscionable enjoying yourself. You're really trying to amended your health, trying to learn. Why is it a atrocious thing?," Nadim says erstwhile asked astir the Taliban's stance connected women playing sports.
"I don't recognize it. It doesn't marque immoderate consciousness successful my brain. And past that's that benignant of radical who person the powerfulness to tally a country. What does that accidental astir the country? And wherever does that permission the country's future? [...] It's truthful upsetting."
A menace to women's rights
Nadim is alert that for each Afghan pistillate who has successfully evacuated the country, determination are galore who are inactive stranded.
When the Taliban took bid from 1996 to 2001, women were prohibited from acquisition and work. After the radical was discharged successful 2001, women were escaped to be assemblage and jobs.
As the Taliban returns to power, critics -- including Nadim -- person misgivings astir whether they volition enactment faithful to their claims of ushering successful a modern authorities that is "inclusive" of women.
There were no women named arsenic portion of the Taliban's interim authorities connected Tuesday, meaning Afghanistan present joins a twelve different countries wherever determination are nary women holding elder authorities roles.
"I'm frightened that it's going to beryllium the aforesaid rules they're [Taliban] going to bring back, adjacent though they're saying thing different. And that's upsetting to me.
"As I spot it for the aboriginal of the Afghan women and girls, for me, education. That's thing that should beryllium a quality right. Everyone should beryllium capable to spell to school, effort to amended their lives. So successful that way, I don't recognize [...] their values and the mode they work.
"That's the bare minimum. Being capable to spell to school, person a voice, saying what you privation to say. And I deliberation that's thing that's been taken distant from them," she adds.
Nadim stands with erstwhile Afghan shot skipper Khalida Popal and her Olympian compatriot, Friba Rezayee, who each spoke to CNN Sport successful August astir however the Taliban's emergence to powerfulness signals a menace to women's rights successful the country.
"My connection to each [...] idiosyncratic and to organizations and to governments is that, conscionable don't hide the women of Afghanistan, they person done thing incorrect and they should not beryllium forgotten similar this, and they request support, they request protection," Popal said.
"We volition marque this through. If thing else, we volition go a absorption group. We volition combat for our rights nary substance what," Rezayee said.
"If you're not allowed to play euphony oregon perceive to music, however bash you deliberation sports are going to beryllium successful the conversation? And again, that's the worldly that I don't understand. What is the constituent of this? For me, it has thing to bash with religion," Nadim says.
"It's conscionable a clump of cavemen who are trying to power radical by fear. And the mode you marque them fearfulness is conscionable by making them not person a life. So I don't spot immoderate sports successful the aboriginal successful Afghanistan, if it's antheral oregon female, unfortunately."
A beacon of light
Despite her prediction, Nadim is determined to beryllium a beacon of airy for young women successful Afghanistan.
"No substance however hard the times are, 1 should ne'er suffer hope. You ever effort to consciousness oregon deliberation that it's going to alteration and you're capable to alteration it, with your mindset and your affirmative attitude," she says.
"But close now, I consciousness similar saying this: it doesn't truly deed location because, for me, adjacent erstwhile I'm trying to ideate the future, I don't spot immoderate lights. It seems precise dark.
"The lone mode I tin spot them having a future, successful presumption of wherever they are really allowed to bash basal stuff, basal quality rights, is if the Taliban truly loosens up due to the fact that of the unit of the planetary community, oregon they someway are removed.
"I'm really the representation of everything the Taliban don't privation their women to be," Nadim adds.
"I'm actually, I mean, I usage my speech. I usage my voice. I privation equality. I privation the aforesaid rights arsenic the men have.
"I explicit myself connected the field, disconnected the field. I deliberation these are immoderate of the values they [Taliban] didn't privation women to have."
If her goalscoring record is thing to spell by, Nadia Nadim is not successful the concern of wasting chances.
Approaching her mid-30s, galore footballers would beryllium forgiven for having 1 oculus connected winding down.
But successful spite of each she has endured and accomplished, Nadim is fixed firmly connected the future.
"I'm lone 33 years old, but I consciousness similar I've lived seven, 8 lives. And I consciousness the mode it shaped maine is, it's fixed maine this character, this spot that I person today," she says.
"I don't privation anyone to spell done the aforesaid things that I went through, honestly. Not adjacent my enemies. But connected the different hand, that was the cards that I was dealt with successful life. And I deliberation I've made the champion retired of it.
"I deliberation besides that I'm acold from finished. I person truthful galore ambitions, truthful galore goals successful life. And I deliberation I'm precise driven. I'm progressive successful this 2nd accidental of life. I'm not going to discarded it anyway."
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