Aotearoa Afghanistan Marathon empowers women refugees to take back charge

An Auckland marathon is empowering Afghani women, who came to New Zealand after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 and outlawed many freedoms for women, to take back charge of their life.

The Aotearoa Afghanistan Marathon, due to be held in Riverhead on 16 November, is continuing the legacy of a history-making marathon, where women took part in the run for the first time in Afghanistan in 2015.

It was labelled "The Secret Marathon" because the details had to remain hidden until the last moment to prevent being targeted by any radicals who were against female participation, organiser Gul Hussain Baizada explains.

Zainab, the first Afghan woman to run in "the secret marathon", told documentary makers at the time that she and other female runners had stones thrown at them, people calling them names like "prostitute", and were accused of destroying Islamic values.

"I see the girls, I invite them to laugh, to be happy, and I think little by little I bring change."

Baizada, who is now a board member of charity Timatanga Hou which organised the New Zealand marathon, says some girls defied their family's pleas and so their families thought they went missing on the day of the run in Afghanistan.

"It was really difficult on how to bring women on the road to run so it was a big challenge … we were not expecting this marathon will have runners, will have women runners, girl runners, so when … we saw lots of girls coming out and they start running, this was a big shock for us as organisers, so then it encouraged us more and more to do [activities] for women."

Fellow board member Amir Foladi says for many refugees, "life itself is really a real marathon".

"This is actually a good opportunity for them to run to show that Afghan women can run, even if they are not allowed in Afghanistan. Also I think in future if we have more runners, it's actually a starting point for them, they can represent Afghanistan or New Zealand in international marathons or any other sports event … and then they can raise their voice of Afghan women, they can help."

The Aotearoa Afghanistan Marathon - which has a 6km run/walk course, a 42km course, and a 21km course - is open to all, but it has seen a higher participation from women so far, with about 50 to 60 registrations in total. But organisers hope they will be able to entice more people from all walks of life.

Riverhead's gravel path was chosen to try and reflect Afghanistan's outback terrain, Foladi says.

'I couldn't walk for like 10 minutes … now I'm walking more than an hour'

At the Cornwall Park training session over the weekend, teenagers Parwana Mohammadi and Halima Arman of Edgewater College are finding joy in simply being able to see nature when they run and walk so freely.

"I love going in forests and seeing lots of trees and stuff. When I started walking, there was lots of trees and that made me come again," Parwana says.

"I have short breathing, but I love running … I was worried but it [running] helped me," says Halima, who moved to New Zealand two months ago.

Parwana's mother Shukreeya Nikzad, whose family moved here about three years ago, is happy there's a place for her to look after her health and make new friends.

"I'm really happy and glad I came to New Zealand because in Afghanistan... I couldn't walk for like 10 minutes in Afghanistan, but right now I'm walking more than an hour and I'm still not tired, I got used to it," Parwana translates on behalf of her mother.

"My new friends, for my health and making myself try new things and work harder - that made me come back [to train]."

Zahra Rezaye, who also moved to New Zealand about three years ago, echoes Nikzad's sentiment and says she's proud of her fitness journey, which she started by chance three months ago.

"In Afghanistan, women aren't allowed to run and stuff - there might be but [rarely]," Parwana translates on behalf of Rezaye. "So she's really grateful that she's in the kind of place where she can run and walk freely, no one tells her to not to do it and stop, and she's actually using this opportunity as hard as she can and she will try her best."

Trainer Dee Williams, who runs a refugee education programme for adults at Selwyn College and has run in about 20 marathons herself, says she's proud to see how far these women have come.

"They bring their daughters and they teach their daughters - they're showing their daughters, role-modelling, what it is to take care of your mental wellbeing and your physical wellbeing and I think it's just beautiful, it's just lovely to watch."

A bridge for the community to celebrate cultures and special prizes

Supported by local Afghani businesses and organised with the help of Lactic Turkey, the marathon will also have a cultural exhibition where there will be live music, food, traditional attire, calligraphy and photos showing Afghanistan's connections with New Zealand.

"What this marathon brings is this bridge between Afghans and others, actually it is a celebration for cultures," Foladi says.

"Many refugees who came to another country, they are isolating themselves, there's no clear picture about them. So, this marathon is actually a good opportunity to showcase who we are."

New Zealand's Aid Programme, which supported initiatives in Afghanistan's Bamyan Province for tourism, helped inspire a range of activities there in which women took part, including skiing and running, Foladi says.

Special symbolic medals made out of gemstones from Afghanistan will be given to those who come in first, second, and third place in the three courses, for female and male participants as well as children.

Timatanga Hou is hoping to at least be able to cover the costs of organising the event this year with the entry fees, but also aiming to make this an annual event with more participation in the future, says fellow board member Suzanne Loughlin.

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