They posed for an AP photographer for portraits with the equipment of the sports they loved. They hid their identities with burqas, the all-encompassing robes and hood that completely cover the face, leaving only a mesh to see through. They didn't normally wear the burqa, but they said they sometimes do now when they go outside and want to remain anonymous and avoid harassment.
The ban on sports is part of the Taliban's escalating campaign of restrictions that have shut down life for girls and women.
Since their takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban have barred girls from attending middle and high school. Last month, they ordered all women thrown out of universities as well.
The Taliban require women to cover their hair and faces in public and prohibit them from going to parks or gyms. They have severely limited women's ability to work outside the home and most recently forbade non-governmental organizations from employing women, a step that could cripple the vital flow of aid.
Even before the Taliban, women's sports were opposed by many in Afghanistan's deeply conservative society, seen as a violation of women's modesty and of their role in society. Still, the previous, internationally-backed government had programs encouraging women's sports and school clubs, leagues and national teams for women in many sports.
"All over the world, when a girl becomes famous and her picture is shown on TV, it's a good day for her and she's at the peak of happiness," she said. "For me, that day was very bitter and the beginning of worse days."
Furious, her mother beat her, shouting that she was not allowed to play soccer. She kept playing in secret but was exposed again when her team won a national championship, and her photo was in the news. Again, her mother beat her.
Still, she sneaked off to the award ceremony. She broke down in tears on stage as the audience cheered. "Only I knew I was crying because of loneliness and the hard life I had," she said.
When she found out, her mother set fire to her soccer uniform and shoes.
Noura gave up soccer, but then turned to boxing. Her mother eventually relented, realizing she couldn't stop her from sports, she said.
The day the Taliban entered Kabul, she said, her coach called her mother and said Noura should go to the airport to be taken out of the country. Noura said her mother didn't deliver the message because she didn't want her to leave. When she learned of the message-too late to escape-Noura said she cut her wrists and had to be taken to the hospital.
"The world had become dark for me," she said.
Three months later, someone who identified himself as a member of the Taliban called the family and threatened her. "They were saying, why did you play sports? Sports are forbidden," she recalled.
Terrified, she left Kabul, disguising herself in her burqa to travel to her family's hometown. Eventually, she returned but remains in fear.
"Even if my life was difficult, I used to have confidence in myself and knew that, with effort, I could do what I wanted," she said. "Now I don't have much hope anymore."