Background and career
Robina Jalali, also known as Robina Muqimyar (born 3 July 1986), is a former Olympic athlete who represented Afghanistan at the 2004 and 2008 Olympics and in 30 international events, competing in the 100-meter sprint. She competed athletically under the name Muqimyar and ran for a seat in the lower house of Afghanistan's parliament, the Wolesi Jirga, using her family name of Jalali.
She attracted international attention for running while wearing the hijab, the traditional Muslim woman's head covering. She was one of the first two women ever to represent Afghanistan at the Olympic Games, competing along judoka Friba Rezayee at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens.
Jalali was born in Kabul, Afghanistan, and is one of nine children (seven girls and two boys). Her father was a businessman in the computer industry who now runs a non-profit company that teaches Afghan women how to sew. Jalali was home schooled during the era of the Taliban when schooling for girls was forbidden. She attended school after 2001. Describing life under the Taliban, she has said: "There was nothing for us girls to do under the Taliban. You couldn't go to school. You couldn't play, you couldn't do anything. You were just at home all the time."
