4.6 • 814 Ratings
🗓️ 13 July 2025
⏱️ 41 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Artist Kubra Khademi was so enraged by the constant sexual harassment faced by women in Afghanistan that she created a bespoke suit of armour, forged out of metal with exaggerated breasts and buttocks. The idea came from an experience she had many years earlier, as a little girl, walking along a street and encountering a male stranger who would sexually assault her - at the time she wished she was wearing "iron underwear" to protect her. In March 2015 Kubra wore her custom-made armour and decided to walk down Kabul’s busiest street. The reaction to her performance was life-changing - she received death threats and was forced to flee her home.
Kubra’s now living in France where she's a successful artist, recognised for her work celebrating the female body.
Presenter: Jo Fidgen Producer: Maryam Maruf
Lives Less Ordinary is a podcast from the BBC World Service that brings you the most incredible true stories from around the world. Each episode a guest shares their most dramatic, moving, personal story. Listen for unbelievable twists, mysteries uncovered, and inspiring journeys - spanning the entire human experience. Step into someone else’s life and expect the unexpected. Got a story to tell? Send an email to [email protected] or message us via WhatsApp: 0044 330 678 2784 You can read our privacy notice here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/5YD3hBqmw26B8WMHt6GkQxG/lives-less-ordinary-privacy-notice
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0:00.0 | Get closer to the action with live commentary from the world's greatest sporting events on BBC Sounds. |
0:06.1 | It is all over! |
0:08.4 | Bulls are edge, caught behind. |
0:10.6 | Including cricket Super League, women's Euros 2025, Wimbledon, Formula One and much more. |
0:17.6 | It's all right to the lights and foot to the floor. |
0:20.0 | Oh, what a's done it! |
0:21.3 | Drop shots! |
0:22.9 | Winner! |
0:23.6 | On five sports extra, |
0:25.0 | Sports Extra 2 and Sports Extra 3. |
0:27.6 | Listen, only on BBC Sounds. |
0:34.1 | In 2015, Kubra Khadami, a young Afghan woman, was preparing for combat. |
0:43.0 | That was a real battlefield. |
0:45.5 | That was a sin of war. |
0:47.6 | That was a real war. |
0:48.7 | That was a battle. |
0:49.5 | I was alone facing all of them. |
0:56.1 | But Kubra is no soldier. |
0:57.6 | She's an artist. |
1:03.1 | And the battlefield she's talking about isn't your typical theatre of war. |
1:07.8 | It's a busy street in Kabul. |
1:15.6 | And Kubra is taking aim at the constant harassment and sexual violence faced by women in their daily lives. |
... |
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