Zakia Khudadadi's story is worthy of a film. After being imprisoned in her home by the Taliban, she managed to be smuggled out of her country on one of the last flights out of Kabul.

Within days of going into exile, and with the psychological scars that came with it, she was competing in the sixteenth Paralympic Games in history, to be held in Tokyo in 2021.

"I think everyone now knows my story and the challenges I faced," says Khudadadi, modestly recounting her experiences. "I even knew that after the video, it was possible that no one would come to support me and that it could be life-threatening for me. But I accepted that risk: I wanted to be the first girl in the Paralympic Games," she said after achieving her goal and arriving in Tokyo in 2020.

Khudadadi achieved her goal and became the first Afghan woman to compete in the Games since 2004. Like any Hollywood film, her story didn't end there; there were more scenes to unfold.

But that was not the end of the story. The now 25-year-old athlete could not return to her home or country, nor could she hope to represent her country again.

There will be no women representing Afghanistan at the Paralympic Games this year, although there will be those born there, like Khudadadi, who will be competing as refugees, unable to represent their country and unable to use identifying flags or clothing. In fact, there will be an athlete from her country in taekwondo, as the Afghan Paralympic Committee will be sending a male competitor.

The situation in the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is becoming more complex by the day. According to the UN, there are restrictions on women working and travelling, and healthcare reaches only half the population. Female athletes have to train in secret, if they can at all, because it is frowned upon.

Khudadadi, who has been living in France for years, will also be competing there in the -47kg category for the Refugee Paralympic Team. In 2023, Khudadadi conquered Europe after winning her first gold medal in Para Taekwondo at the 2023 European Para Championships.

Rotterdam was the epicentre of a dream day for Khudadadi, particularly in the final against Turkey's Nurcihan Ekinci, where she staged a comeback to level the match with less than a minute to go before winning in extra time.

Khudadadi's life is a constant series of challenges. She has a disability (she has only one functional arm), was forced to flee her home and is now a refugee in the West, where the society is highly developed and accepts all kinds of religious beliefs, but the daily life is not predominantly Muslim.

She will not be the only refugee taking part in the third edition of the Paralympic Games in Paris, which welcomes this group of people who, unfortunately number more than 120 million worldwide, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

In total, eight Para-athletes and two guide runners will compete in six sports: athletics, powerlifting, table tennis, taekwondo, triathlon and wheelchair fencing.

The foundation of the Paralympic Games is the inclusion of people, changing mindsets to build a better world, as IPC President Andrew Parsons told Inside The Games in an exclusive interview on the eve of Paris 2024.

The inclusion of refugees contributes to this, whether they are Olympians or Paralympians, because the inclusion of people is one of the greatest achievements in the history of modern sport, celebrating diversity, not just physical or cognitive, but real and in every aspect of life.