HISTORIC DAY FOR WOMEN’S BOXING

Saturday November 26, 2022, will go down in Kenya’s boxing history as the first time ever an all-female boxing tournament was held in the East African country at the Rising Angel Star Academy, Nairobi.

Young, determined girls from 9 years old demonstrated their boxing prowess in the Equality Cup tournament organized by Boxgirls Kenya, a community-based organization that uses boxing to empower girls and women in the marginalized communities on various activities among them sport promotion, education, reproductive health, self-defense, leadership and mentorship.

Over 30 girls furiously traded leather amidst roaring cheers from an appreciative crowd that included some of Kenya’s top female boxers such as former WBC super-bantamweight champion Fatuma Zarika and Commonwealth super lightweight champion Sarah Achieng who is one of Boxgirts pioneer pugilists. National team head coach Musa Benjamin also graced the occasion and gave away prizes to some of the winners as well as participating in a vibrant discussion on women’s boxing in Kenya.

Not to be left out of this historic day in Kenya boxing, I was there too and teamed up with Sarah Achieng as the ringside announcer flanked by professional boxing referee and judge Linder Achieng Abok.

By Marcelo Barone — Paris, France

BoxGirls has brought practical knowledge to the slums of Nairobi since 2008, tries to break stigmas, teaches basic concepts such as autonomy of the body itself and addresses topics such as harassment

BoxGirls Kenya is a club made up of women – although it was founded by Analo Anjere, the Priest, who still works for the organization in 2008. The project came after the bloody election that year, when there was a wave of violence, which victimized girls and women, sexually harassed in communities and slums in the African country.

Kenyan Sarah Ndisi, who has been at BoxGirls since the beginning, highlights the project’s empowering vocation. Many students, before joining the organization, did not even know about their rights as women.

– Priest trained in boxing classes for boys. Two girls asked to train, and he left, taught them to defend themselves. Over time, he realized that there was a gap with regard to women’s rights. Many did not know what was good or bad for them. For this reason, our biggest dream when dealing with boxing is not about career, but about empowering women – explained Sarah, the entity’s professional boxing athlete, in an interview with ge.

Since 2012 at BoxGirls Kenya, Emily Juma agrees with her friend. Boxing and self-defense classes serve as protection for women who increasingly understand the abuses suffered throughout their lives in the country. The condition of vulnerability experienced in communities is an aggravating factor in this scenario.

– We are creating platforms so that girls can speak out when they feel they are being violated. So that they control their bodies, so that they have a voice. Consent or not when it comes to your body. At the end of everything, if they manage to pursue a career in sport or improve financially, without depending on anyone, occupying spaces, it will be great. Boxing changed my life. And, in terms of self-defense, it worked to make me feel safer inside the favela where I live – said the amateur athlete, who works in the organizational part of the project.

In addition to defending life against sexual abuse and harassment, a campaign called #quebrandoestereotypes was also successful there. Florence Otieno, one of the leaders of BoxGirls today, says that machismo is still present and, therefore, men do not see boxing as an activity aimed at women.

– We live in a society that thinks boxing is masculine and violent. People think “it’s a man’s thing”. We are educating, raising awareness. BoxGirls wants to break this and create a safe environment for women to participate, without stigma, without negative perceptions of society. And show people that boxing is good for physical and mental growth, as well as teaching women to defend themselves.

BoxGirls competed – but did not take – the Laureus award in the Sports For Good category in Paris, France. A separate result was a rare occasion when boxing in Kenya was more in vogue than athletics. And, as far as Florence is concerned, the fight will be increasingly prominent.

– We could be the boxing country in the future. It is not something that is happening now, but we see a big difference from other years. For now, our vision is to create opportunities, to help. We have boxing tournaments, girls interested in meeting and learning. For girls who dream of boxing: run after it, don’t stand still. Follow your dreams for love.