Setayesh Golshani was three years old when persecution forced her family to leave Iran. A year later, she arrived in Australia with her parents by ship and was transferred to the offshore asylum processing centre on Nauru.

She spent more than two years in detention before being released into community detention in Brisbane.

As she grew older, Setayesh found strength through taekwondo. The sport became her refuge — a place where she could focus, compete and begin to imagine a future of her own. By sixteen, she had become a multi-award-winning athlete.

But the uncertainty of her childhood continues to shape her life. Her immigration status limits her opportunities to compete internationally, study and build a secure future in Australia. Although she was recognized as a refugee in 2019, her status remains unresolved.

Setayesh continues to advocate for the chance to remain in Australia, where she has grown up and built her life. She also fears returning to Iran, where she says she could face persecution as a young woman and apostate.

Her journey is one of a girl who has faced extraordinary challenges and refused to let them define her. Through taekwondo, she has found strength, purpose and a voice of her own.

Now, she is fighting for the opportunity to turn that hard-won strength into a future.

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