The woman standing on stage glistens in a crystal-studded bikini.

Her glowing, tanned skin shows off each of her well-defined muscle lines, the result of hours of weight training in the gym.

Roya Karimi's perfectly-applied make-up and hair highlighted blonde wouldn't look out of place in the finals of Miss Universe.

It is hard to imagine that just 15 years ago, she was a teenage mother in Afghanistan, married off as a child bride, before she escaped to her new life.

Now aged 30, she is one of Europe's top bodybuilders, and will be competing in the World Bodybuilding Championships this week. Her rise has been meteoric – she only took up the sport professionally less than two years ago.

None of this looked likely when Roya fled Afghanistan with her mother and young son. Back then, she sought refuge in Norway where she made a new life for herself, continuing her education and becoming a nurse, while meeting her new husband, who also bodybuilds.

Bodybuilding helped her break free from the mental and social limitations that had been imposed on her for years, she says.

"Every time I go to the gym, I remember that there was a time in Afghanistan when I wasn't even allowed to exercise freely," Roya told BBC News Afghan.

Roya's life story has been one of fighting against restrictive traditions and rebuilding her identity - and trying to inspire women in her home country who face widespread restrictions.

Some of those restrictions existed when Roya lived in Afghanistan - a result of social norms. But they have got worse since 2021, when the Taliban returned to power. Now, women in Afghanistan are banned from........

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