00:00Inside this modest boxing club in Karachi, these girls have gathered for their daily
00:05training session.
00:06The teenagers come from Liyari, a deprived neighborhood long associated with violence.
00:12Thirteen-year-old Tuba Shaheen took up the sport just a year ago.
00:18In Pakistan, boxing ring has long been considered a space reserved for men.
00:23But like Tuba Shaheen, more and more women are putting on the gloves.
00:29Thanks to boxing I feel safe, I'm not afraid of anyone.
00:32I've become very strong and I love this sport.
00:35Too often girls are perceived as weak and when men whistle at them, they're left defenseless.
00:40That's why I think it's essential for girls to be physically strong and be able to defend
00:44themselves.
00:45Their coach opened the first girls' boxing club in Pakistan 11 years ago.
00:50Nearly 90% of women in the country do not participate in sports.
00:56In Pakistan, we have many sports that women participate in, but boxing had no girls.
01:00So I decided to create a women's boxing club.
01:03It was very difficult.
01:05People said I was crazy.
01:06Because of this mentality, women's boxing is neglected.
01:10Female boxing is slowly gaining ground across the country, with women now stepping onto the
01:14international stage.
01:16This is the case for 20-year-old Alia Sumro.
01:18Last year, the daughter of a factory worker made history as the first Pakistani woman to
01:23claim an international boxing title.
01:25her path through success, however, has been marked by significant challenges.
01:31Here, attitudes are very traditional.
01:33If it's a girl, people think she can't do anything, that her only role is to take care
01:37of the house and prepare meals.
01:39The main obstacle we face is that even before we start, we have to ask our families permission
01:43just to go outside and play a sport.
01:53In a country ranked last in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Index, women's boxing is pushing
01:59back against social norms and deeply rooted gender stereotypes.
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