Afghanistan-born Ali Zada was granted asylum in France in 2017, and represented the IOC Refugee Olympic Team in road cycling at the re-arranged 2020 Games in Tokyo.

Last year, she became the first refugee member of the IOC Athletes' Commission.

Since then, the IOC has warned it has "serious concern" about the restrictions on women and girls in sport in Afghanistan, and reminded it of its requirement to ensure male and female representation in its team for Paris 2024. 

Ali Zada confirmed that the IOC has held discussions with the hard line Islamist group the Taliban which returned to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, but the threat remains that the country could be unable to take part at next year's Olympic Games.

"I think the IOC tried to discuss with the Government of Afghanistan to allow one girl to participate in the Olympic Games, so if the Government allow one girl to participate, there will be a team from Afghanistan that could participate at the Olympic Games," the 27-year-old told insidethegames at the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Athletes' Forum.

"If they don't allow it, there will not be, so the IOC tried to discuss with Afghanistan to allow girls to do sport, but unfortunately the situation in Afghanistan is that they [the Government] don't want any rights for the women."

Despite the threat, Ali Zada claimed she hopes that efforts to secure women's participation in sport bear fruit, and a team can represent Afghanistan at Paris 2024.

More than 3.2 million Afghans in the country have been displaced since the Taliban reclaimed the capital Kabul, over 70 per cent of whom are women and children, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

The Taliban previously governed in Afghanistan from 1996 until 2001 before being removed in a United States-led operation.

Its interpretation of sharia law had led to women being excluded from secondary education and sports and required to cover their faces in public and travel with men.

Afghanistan's National Olympic Committee was suspended by the IOC from 1999 to 2003, although has thus far avoided the same sanction.

Ali Zada underlined the scale of restrictions on women's lives in Afghanistan, and called for greater action from the international community.

"If the Taliban, if the Government in Afghanistan don't allow girls to go to school, it's really difficult to convince them to allow girls to do sport, so we have to start firstly from education, from work, integration for the society, and after maybe sport," she told insidethegames.

"Sport is at the end of the list for the rights of women in Afghanistan.

"It's so complicated to respond to this question, but I hope one day girls could go to school.

"Unfortunately, the dream of girls in Afghanistan is limited to going to school.

"Going to school is a basic right, it's a human right, no one has the right to take this right from women, but unfortunately [in] a country by the name of Afghanistan, women are limited to the houses."

Ali Zada is currently studying civil engineering at the University of Lille but fears that the international community has largely already forgotten about what the awful conditions women and girls are forced to live under in Afghanistan.

"They are limited from all basic rights, and the world is silent," she told insidethegames.

"No one talks about it, no one would like to do something in action for the women in Afghanistan.

"I am really, really sorry for that and I am so sad for that.

"We cannot forget the women of Afghanistan.

"We have to talk about them, we have to oblige the world to take action for the women."

You can read the full Big Read from the OCA Athletes' Forum here.