This article highlights a connection between Diophantine approximation and the lower Assouad dimension by using information about the latter to show that the Hausdorff dimension of the set of badly approximable points that lie in certain non-conformal fractals, known as self-affine sponges, is bounded below by the dynamical dimension of these fractals. The results, which are the first to advance beyond the conformal setting, encompass both the case of Sierpiński sponges/carpets (also known as Bedford–McMullen sponges/carpets) and the case of Barański carpets.