Afghan refugees in the U.S. forge their own path on the soccer pitch

By day, Sodaba Khinjani might help clean your teeth at the dentist's office. Rabia Yaqobi might make your next meal. But after their work days, the Afghan refugees can be found on the pitch—forging their own path on the soccer pitch as part of the Houston Shine FC .

Khinjani and Yaqobi are some of the women who fled Afghanistan after the U.S. withdrew in 2021 and the Taliban made women's sports illegal.

"Everybody that was in sport, was in kill list of Taliban," Khinjani said. At 14, she was selected to join the Afghan women's national team, but was forced to practice in secret.

"It was really hard, because I already lost my brother, the Taliban killed him, and they sent his dead body," Khinjani said.

While FIFA was able to provide visas for female athletes to escape, it meant they h