Yemeni girls find strength in kickboxing
Yemen's kickboxing girls
have found strength in sport
Location: Sanaa
In a city battered by years of war
a row of young girls
in red, white, and black uniforms
pummel punching bags and practice self-defense
They are students at Academia gym
which was set up to empower women and girls
Despite living in a country
in the throes of conflict
the classes have kept going
and have even expanded
(SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) MIXED MARTIAL ARTS TRAINER, SEHAM AMER, SAYING:
"In Yemeni society, people started to fear for girls, so they now come to train, each with her own purpose. Some come to learn self-defense, some come for strength, others train for fitness, each one of them comes for a different reason. But thank God the numbers have increased. In 2015 we used to train only six young girls but in recent times we have reached 50 trainees, some whom are older women who want to train."
