Born in the Taliban regime in Afghanistan, fleeing to a refugee camp in Denmark: Nadia Nadim’s childhood story, later proceeding a career as an elite footballer and becoming a medical doctor is a strong example of women’s empowerment through education.
International Women’s Day is celebrated on March 8th 2026 under the theme, “Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls”. Right now, in 2026, women have only 64 per cent of the legal rights that men hold worldwide. This year, International Women’s Day calls for action to dismantle the structural barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls.
Around 2000 a woman named Hamida Nadim gathered her five daughters and fled Afghanistan, following the execution of her husband, an Afghan National Army (ANA) general. Leaving Afghanistan with forged passports, the family first went to Pakistan and then made their way to Europe, eventually arriving in Denmark as refugees. One of the five daughters was Nadia Nadim.
Today Nadia Nadim is 38 years old and lives in Copenhagen, where she is playing for HB Køge Women in Denmark’s top-level women’s football league after transferring from AC Milan around six months ago. Growing up as the middle sister of five, she has walked through life surrounded by strong women.
– My mother grew up with seven sisters and I have four. I am so close to my aunts and sisters. Us sisters are all so different, ranging from one personality to another, and I feel like me as the middle sister is binding all of us together, Nadia Nadim says.
“They are not alone”
Celebrating International Women’s Day, UN support for the rights of women began with the Organization’s founding Charter. As a UNESCO ambassador for Girl’s and Women’s education Nadia Nadim is raising awareness around the importance of education. In our interview with UNRIC she points out that it is of highest relevance for her to give back to society on every opportunity she has.
-I want to spark something inside these girls, I want them to know and believe that they are not alone.
Looking back at her own journey, losing freedom under the Taliban in Afghanistan and living in poverty in a refugee camp, she recalls a special moment during the time she fled from Afghanistan to Pakistan, finally crossing the safe borders of Denmark. Exhausted and hungry in an isolated part of the country she remembers a local police officer talking to her mother. When this policeman came back and looked at the young girls, Nadia herself being only 11 years old, he stopped and did the international sign for hunger, rubbing his stomach. Not having eaten in days the girls were overwhelmed with gratitude and the policeman took them to a store and bought them some white toast and bananas.
– This moment lives on in my memory, and it had a true impact on my character. I want to be just that kind of person that can reenergize other people and truly see them and their struggles. I refuse to give up, my life is the result of the efforts of my mother and what she did.
Following her mother’s footsteps
Nadia Nadim’s mother Hamida, who died in an accident in 2022, was never granted education herself and came from a line of women that never received education. Not allowed to attend school Hamida Nadim still persuaded her mother and went behind her father’s back to receive education with the goal of being a doctor. She never reached her goals, but eventually she worked as a teacher and a school inspector, educating her own girls in speaking and writing their mother tongue and encouraging them to go as far as education could take them.
– If she would not have taken the first step all of what I am experiencing would never have happened.
Nadia Nadim began playing for local teams in Denmark and made her debut with the national team in 2009, going to play with high profile teams such as Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain and AC Milan. Her story in football began in the refugee camps of Denmark. Meanwhile the family was seeking political asylum, Nadia Nadim was exploring the surroundings and found large, impressive football fields. She was curious and discovered teams of girls of her own age playing.
– They looked so happy and free, I fell in love with the game of football there and then, Nadia Nadim says with enthusiasm. The hardest thing to change in society is the cultural and religious power. Pursuing that change football is so globally loved and it is a way to experience sisterhood, capability, confidence and expanding your horizon. Sport has a tremendous power that translates into education.
Never give up hope
Although there has been some progress over the decades, on average women in the labour market still earn around 20 per cent less than men globally. In 2024, women held only 27 per cent of seats in national parliaments and 35.5 per cent of seats in local governments, and 107 countries have never had a woman Head of State. Speaking of all the girls in the world who are lacking opportunities, freedom and rights, like the women back in her former home country of Afghanistan, Nadia Nadim says her heart is breaking for them.
– Women are 50 percent of the worlds’ population. That everyone is not allowed to be learning, growing, changing the world and inventing things breaks my heart. Your opportunities should never be affected by where you are born, all women should have the same access and opportunities.
Being a role model for many girls and women who aspire to emancipate and unleash their potential against gender norms and discrimination, Nadia Nadim has a clear message.
– Never give up hope no matter how dark the room is. You have to keep searching for light. Maintain the hope and believe that things can change: no one can take hope away from you!