Fariba Hashimi

Fariba Hashimi (born 22 April 2003) is an Afghan road cyclist. She is a refugee from Afghanistan in Italy. She is national champion and competed at the 2023 UCI Road World Championships. With her contribution to road cycling she aims for better possibilities of Afghan women.
==Biography==
Hashimi was born in Maīmanah in 2003. In 2017 there was a local cycling race in the Faryab Province where they lived. She and her sister wanted to participated but had never rode a bicycle. They borrowed one from a neighbour one afternoon to start practicing. As it was unlikely their family would support it, they participated secrectly under another name and dressed in much covering clothes. She and her sister finished first and second. They started competed in more small races and continued winning. After a while their family found it out from photos in the media. At first they had to stop cycling, but after much insistence they got the support of the family. However they faced regular harassment and threats. People tried to hit them with cars or rickshaws, stones where threy at them and they were were bullied at school for riding a bicycle. Shortly after they were called up for the national team.
After the Fall of Kabul by the Taliban in 2021, women's rights and freedoms were cracked down, including that is was banned for women to practice sports. With the help of Alessandra Cappellotto she was able to leave Afghanistan with a few other women on a flight organised by the Italian government in 2021. Her family still lives in Afghanistan. They started living in the Veneto region in a flat together with her sister and Zahra Rezayee. Cappellotto also helped with new bikes, a coach (Maurizio) and a training schedule for them. Since the takeover by the Taliban, out of the 52 Afghan sport federation, Afghan women only participate in cycling (as of 2023)
From 1 August 2022 she joined team Valcar–Travel & Service. They participated in races in Italy, including the UCI World Gravel Championships near Vicenza. The women’s Afghanistan national championships were held in Aigle, Switzerland in October 2022. Working together with her sister Yulduz Hashimi in the race, she won the final sprint of her and became national champion. 
Due to the victory she earned a contract with Israel Premier Tech Roland. She also earned with her sister an Olympic scholarships, bringing them financial and technical support.
In June 2023 she competed in the road race event and time trial event at the 2023 Asian Road Cycling Championships in Rayong, Thailand. In July she competed in the international recognized women’s cycling race Tour de Berlin Feminin.
Together with Yulduz Hashimi and Zahra Rezayee and three men she competed in the mixed team relay event at the 2023 UCI Road World Championships in Glasgow. It marked the first time since the Fall of Kabul by the Taliban that women represented Afghanistan at a World Championships. At the start Rezayee fell on the starting podium. As the time of the second rider counts, she continued with her sister. Her sister however, got a puncture. She waited on Rezeyee and finished the race with her. While it was in last place 18 minutes behind Switzerland, they achieved (for themselves) an important goal.
Becoming the first female Afghan Olympian is not her only goal. She hopes to show a sign of strength “let the people of our country know that we will never give up”, and to be a sign of hope for the Afghan women.
Category:2003 births
Category:Afghan people
Category:Afghan cyclists