Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago

---

In this episode of "The Struggle for Freedom, Explained," Fariba Rezayee, Afghan former Olympic champion and women's rights advocate, along with Karim Zidan, HRF's Sports & Dictators fellow, break down how dictators and authoritarian regimes use sports as a political tool of oppression, power & corruption, and reputational laundering. Watch the episode to learn more.
#Afghanistan #olympics #IOC #sports #politics #dictators #democracy #freedom #parisolympics2024

CHAPTERS
00:00 - Friba Rezayee, Afghan Olympian
02:40 - Sports and politics
02:49 - Sports are weaponized by governments
03:08 - History of sports and politics
03:45 - Dictators use sports as a political tool
04:02 - Oppression
05:24 - Power & corruption
07:32 - Reputational Laundering
08:47 - Responsibility of the international federations
09:00 - Fifa
09:24 - How can you help?
10:00 - The IOC should ban the Taliban
10:45 - Thank you

______________________________________________________________________________________

Learn more about our work at the Human Rights Foundation:
Website: hrf.org
X (formerly Twitter): https://X.com/HRF
Instagram: instagram.com/hrf
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/hrf
Subscribe to HRF’s Substack: humanrightsfoundation.substack.com

Join us in promoting freedom where it’s most at risk!
Donate today: hrf.org/?form=donate