This article was originally published by Terriennes, the TV5Monde media outlet, and is being shared here as part of our partnership with it.
Society, says Hoorain Zahra before her boxing class in Karachi, believes that boxing is not for girls. It also thinks girls should not even be allowed to go outside, because they are not safe there. “But it is not possible to live without going out; we have to go out”, says the 13-year-old, adjusting her black hijab.
By perfecting her punches, the schoolgirl wants to follow in the footsteps of boxer Aliya Soomro, her idol.
Seeds of champions
Aliya Soomro, 21, made headlines in Pakistan after winning an international fight last year, a feat in a country still shaped by patriarchal norms, as so many others are.
Another breakthrough came in July last year, when Fatima Zahra, 22, became the first Pakistani female boxer to win a Commonwealth Games medal, taking bronze in Glasgow.
The passion for sport
Like her role model Aliya Soomro, Hoorain Zahra comes from Lyari, a working-class district of Karachi where the passion for sport burns brightly today. Around her, other girls are getting ready for class.
Coach Ustad Younis Qambrani has trained dozens of female boxers since opening his gym to girls more than 10 years ago. “I was convinced that boxing was very important for girls”, the 56-year-old told AFP. “My two daughters were the first to do women’s boxing […] The girls who train with us go out with a lot of confidence. They show great courage and they fear nothing”.
Facing the outside world
Before fighting in the ring, girls must first struggle to leave their homes and find safe places to play sport.
Since the victory of religious parties in the 2018 elections, the activities permitted for girls have become even more restricted. In some areas, they can no longer even ride bicycles.
Yet within this deeply conservative community, sport has continued to grow. The Lyari district is known for producing athletes, including boxers with iron fists.
Some parents, like those of Hoorain Zahra and Aliya Soomro, support their children strongly. “People think girls are weak and cannot do anything”, Aliya Soomro says, determined to continue her momentum, “but I believe girls can do anything, sometimes even more than men.”