A year-and-a-half ago, Liqa Esazada for the first time stepped into a martial arts club for women in Kabul, something of a rarity in this still deeply conservative Muslim society.
At the time, she was just accompanying her older sister, but was immediately intrigued.
The 22-year-old is now one of about 20 Afghan women who find inspiration and empowerment in Japanese jujitsu, a martial arts form that dates back centuries.
Photo: AP
They love the sport and dare to dream big, hoping someday to compete on the international level.
In war-torn Afghanistan, where gender discrimination has deep cultural and historical roots, and where many women suffer from domestic violence, jujitsu seems an ideal sport for women.
It teaches self-defense against a stronger and heavier opponent by using certain holds and principles of leverage.
Esazada said she wants to show a more positive side of Afghanistan — and “become famous and win the world jujitsu championship medal.”
Sayed Jawad Hussiani, a jujitsu instructor at the Nero Club, where Esazada trains, said that this martial arts form with roots in feudal Japan was first brought to Afghanistan in 2005, but has since become popular among men and women alike.
The women in Hussiani’s group find strength in their team spirit.
They braid each other’s hair before training sessions, spar against one another, take turns on the even bars.
In winter, they practice their wrestle holds on snow-covered hilltops above Kabul.
Since the US and the Taliban earlier this year signed a deal on ending the US’ longest war, women in Afghanistan have become increasingly worried about losing some of the rights and freedoms they have gained over the past two decades.
Under the Taliban, women were not allowed to go to school, work outside the home or leave their house without a male escort.
Esazada said she is not afraid of the Taliban, and if they come back, she would simply “continue my training to reach my dreams.”
She looks to Afghan female athletes who have made their mark on the world stage by winning more than 100 medals at regional and international tournaments.
Tahmina Kohistani, Afghanistan’s first female Olympic athlete, competed in the 100m at the 2012 London Games, while the national women’s soccer team defeated Pakistan 4-0 at the 2010 South Asian Football Championship, and Afghan female powerlifters won three gold and two bronze at the 2011 Asian Games in Kazakhstan.
Another student at the club, Rana Rasuli, 21, said that she worries about her future if the Taliban manage to retake all of Afghanistan.
However, Rasuli said that for now, she is happiest when she can leave her home and exercise with the other girls at the club.
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