This Iraqi Woman Is Training Girls In Karate To Defend Themselves And Punching Down Gender Norms
30-year-old Noor Salman started training as way of self-defense.
Meet Noor Salman, who is punching down gender norms and teaching girls karate as self-defense in Iraq.
Salman teaches women karate in the the Asif Academy in Baghdad.
The 30-year-old started training as way of self-defense.
"It happened to me more than once at university or middle school, that I did not manage to speak (up), respond, or react to a person who would harass or speak (insult) to me. After joining the academy, and this is what made me proud of myself and of what I am doing here is that it is yielding results. I am now able to respond, I am able to use the defensive techniques that I have learned. I hit the person who crossed the personal boundaries that I have set," Salman said.
She had spent two years convincing her family to let her train in karate.
"I insisted on practicing karate even though society was against it, my family was against it, and everyone I knew was against it because karate is a sport, or a somewhat violent martial art. But I insisted and persevered for two years, trying to convince my family. I tried to convince my mother and sisters, and the people I know, to get involved in this martial art. After two years or more, I was able to join this academy and become one of the women who train in this academy," Salman said.
She is now a trainer teaching its benefits to young girls and boys.
The Asif academy offers women-only classes with women trainers.
This helps girls and women feel safe in joining and participating.
"In the beginning, I was afraid, I was confused when I went out, I kept worrying. But now, I am self-confident, I know how to behave if I face a certain type of situation. It changed my mentality, my self-confidence, the way I move, of course," Badur Amin, a student, told Reuters.
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