It is truly a marvelous time to be alive, isn't it? We live in an era where the bravest, strongest men in charge of a country can look at a twenty-two-year-old woman and see a threat to their entire existence. The news has come down from the mountains of Afghanistan that the Taliban has finally released Khadija Ahmadzada. She is a female athlete who spent thirteen days in jail. Her release is being treated like some sort of act of mercy, a moment of kindness from the rulers. But let us stop for a moment and look at what actually happened. We need to look at the absolute absurdity of why she was there in the first place.

According to the spokesman for the regime—and I use the word 'regime' because 'government' implies they know how to govern—she was detained for a 'violation of rules regarding women's sports gyms.' Read that sentence again. Let it sink into your brain. In a country facing hunger, poverty, and isolation, the priority was to make sure a young woman did not do any exercise. It would be funny if it wasn't so incredibly sad. The violation wasn't violence. It wasn't theft. It was, essentially, existing in a space where women are trying to be healthy.

There is something deeply pathetic about a group of men who are terrified of a treadmill. Imagine the scene. You have men who have spent decades fighting wars. They carry heavy weapons. They drive around in trucks shouting orders. And yet, the thing that keeps them up at night is the idea that a woman might lift a weight or go for a run. They have to ban it. They have to police it. They have to throw a young athlete in a cage for two weeks just to prove they are in charge. It reeks of insecurity. If your rule over a country is so fragile that it is threatened by women’s sports, maybe you aren't as powerful as you think you are.

The language they use is the best part of this tragic comedy. They talk about 'rules' and 'violations' as if this is normal city planning. It sounds like she forgot to renew her driver's license or built a fence too high. But these 'rules' are just a fancy way of saying 'we want to control every single breath you take.' They wrap their cruelty in boring, bureaucratic language. They want us to nod and say, 'Ah, well, she broke the rules.' But the rule itself is the crime. The rule is that women should be invisible. The rule is that women should be weak.

For thirteen days, Khadija sat in a cell. Why? Because she wanted to be strong. That is the irony that drips off this story like acid. The Taliban claims they are protecting society. They say they are protecting 'values.' But what value is protected by stopping a woman from exercising? They are not protecting anything. They are just hoarding power. They are taking away the most basic human right: ownership of one’s own body. By arresting an athlete, they are sending a message to every other woman: do not try to be strong. Do not try to improve yourself. Stay in your box.

And let us not forget the world's reaction. We read the headline, we see she is released, and we feel a little bit of relief. 'Oh good,' we say, 'she is out.' We treat the release like a victory. But this is not a victory. A victory would be her never being taken in the first place. A victory would be a world where a woman can walk into a gym without risking prison. By celebrating her release too much, we almost thank the kidnapper for letting the hostage go. We forget that the kidnapping was the problem. We set the bar so low for these rulers that simply 'not keeping a woman in a dungeon forever' is seen as progress.

Khadija is out now, and we should be glad for her safety. But she steps out of a small jail cell into a much larger one. The whole country has become a place where half the population is treated like naughty children who cannot be trusted with their own lives. She can walk down the street, perhaps, but she cannot be who she wants to be. She cannot do what she loves. The 'rules' are still there. The men with the guns are still afraid of her sneakers.

So, here is to the absurdity of it all. Here is to the 'violations' of rules that should not exist. And here is to the deep, embarrassing weakness of men who think locking up an athlete makes them look strong. It doesn't. It just shows the world exactly how small they really are.