One of the many activities forbidden by the Taliban was bodybuilding. Now, Khosraw Basheri is The first-ever Mr. Afghanistan:
Modern gyms and athletic clubs have popped up in many provinces in recent years, Payanda said, adding that some Afghan bodybuilders have returned from neighboring Pakistan and Iran since the hard-line Islamic Taliban regime was ousted in 2001 and President Hamid Karzai subsequently took office.But Afghanistan’s bodybuilding community is still reeling from the loss of its entire national team — 13 leading competitors — in a 1993 plane crash in the country’s north.
(Hat tip to Art De Vany.)