A Taliban government official stated on Friday that a former wife of legendary US boxer Muhammad Ali had arrived in the capital of Afghanistan to reportedly open a stadium in a nation where women are prohibited from participating in sports.
Khalilah Camacho-Ali, the boxer’s wife since 1967, had arrived in Kabul, according to Ahmadullah Wasiq, the head of the sports directorate under the Taliban government.
According to the directorate, she was in the city “to build a sports stadium to be named ‘Pirozi’ (victory in Dari) and a sports association named after Muhammad Ali,” according to state media.
Camacho-Ali, who was born Belinda Boyd in the United States in 1950, converted to Islam after marrying her former world champion boxer husband.
In his capacity as a peace ambassador for the United Nations, Muhammad Ali himself paid a visit to a girls’ school in Kabul in 2002, one year after US forces overthrew the first Taliban government.
Women have borne the brunt of restrictions that the United Nations has dubbed “gender apartheid,” including preventing women from participating in sports, since the Taliban government came to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
From 1996 to 2001, when the Taliban took power, public executions in sports stadiums were common.
Since their return to power, public corporal punishment has continued, and at least two public executions have taken place in sports stadiums.
Free fighting, such as in Mixed Martial Arts, was deemed to be anti-Islamic by the authorities, who have recently imposed restrictions on combat sports as well.
According to her website, Camacho-Ali is an actress, martial artist, and author.
Ali, who was born Cassius Clay in the southeastern state of Kentucky, is well-known for both his achievements as a sportsman and his advocacy for African Americans for civil rights. 2016 saw his passing.
