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By Amy Tennery
PARIS (Reuters) - Kimia Yousofi finished last in her 100 metres preliminary heat on Friday but sent a message just by stepping on to the track, advocating for women in Afghanistan after fleeing the country to chase her Paris Olympic dream.
The 28-year-old flipped her bib around after crossing the finishing line in 13.42 seconds, revealing a sign that read "education", "sport" and "our rights".
Yousofi left Afghanistan shortly after she competed in the COVID-delayed Tokyo Games in 2021, when the Taliban seized power and rolled back rights for women and girls.
Yousofi, the Opening Ceremony flag bearer in 2021, came to Paris saying she wanted to represent the "stolen dreams and aspirations" of Afghan women, and said at the Stade de France that she would continue fighting for her country.
"We represent the Afghan people with this flag," she told reporters. "It is enough. Inside Afghanistan, they want education, they want sports."
The Taliban - who say they respect women's rights in line with their interpretation of Islamic law and local customs - have closed girls' high schools, placed travel restrictions on women without a male guardian and restricted access to parks and gyms since seizing power in August 2021.
Afghanistan fielded a gender-equal team in Paris, with three men and three women, a symbolic move that the International Olympic Committee would inspire people in Afghanistan and around the world.
No Taliban official was allowed at the Games. Both the head of Afghanistan's national Olympic committee recognised by the IOC and its secretary general are currently in exile, the IOC has said.
Born to refugee parents in Iran during the Taliban's previous rule, Yousofi had relocated to Afghanistan in order to represent the country in the 2016 Games. She relocated to Australia in 2022 in order to train for the Paris Olympics.
She said she was speaking out for those who could not at home in Afghanistan.
"They cannot talk. I can talk," she said.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery; Editing by Alison Williams)
