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For Immediate Release
August 16, 2004

Afghan Women Participate in Olympic Games
Fact of the Day

After an 8-year absence, athletes from Afghanistan are participating in the 2004 Olympics. Afghanistan was banned from the 2000 Olympics because the Taliban outlawed female competitors. This year, Afghanistan has two women and three men competing in Athens. The two women, Robina Muqimyar and Friba Razayee, are the first two Afghan women ever to compete in the Olympics. Both men and women train (at different times) in the Kabul stadium where executions once took place under the Taliban.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of State.