A 22-year-old Afghan woman who reportedly ran a taekwondo gym for women has been released after 13 days in prison, a spokesman for the Taliban’s supreme court confirmed.
Khadija Ahmadzada was detained for “violating” the rules “regarding women’s sports gyms”, a spokesman for the Taliban’s vice and virtue ministry told the BBC.
Sports clubs have been closed to women since 2021, shortly after the Taliban returned to power.
At the time, it said it would reopen once a “secure environment” – which did not conflict with the Taliban’s strict interpretation of Islamic law – had been established.
Until January 2026, no sports club has reopened, while women still cannot compete.
It is one of the measures imposed on women by the Taliban since 2021, which has seen their rights to education and work curtailed as well as strict dress codes imposed.
Ahmadzada, who lives near the western city of Herat, was detained along with several other people after “violations were observed” by vice and virtue inspectors, the ministry’s spokesman said.
She was accused of not wearing “a proper hijab”, “playing music” and allowing men to mingle in her gym and was sentenced to 13 days in prison. The spokesman said he had been given several warnings.
The case was then referred to the supreme court, which announced that he would be released on Thursday 23 January. It is unclear where he is now.
The news of Ahmadzada’s arrest led to an outcry on social media, attracting the attention of Richard Bennett, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, who posted online calling for his immediate release.
He also highlighted the case of female journalist Nazira Rashidi, in the northern city of Kunduz, who was detained in late December.
Taliban spokesmen denied his detention was related to his work as a journalist, according to local media.