WEB CHUTNEY

They are part of the first-ever official training program in Pakistan to teach women how to box. The First Women Boxing Coaching Camp has been organized by the Sindh Boxing Association (SBA) in Lyari, Karachi.

It all started when a 16-year-old girl, Khadijah, approached the 2013 Sindh boxing champion and resident of Lyari, Nadir Kachi, and asked him to train her. She wanted to learn to box, but couldn’t find any club willing to teach her. All the girls she knew used to watch videos of matches or training sessions and practice in their homes.

They had no way of competing, as no inter-club, district, provincial, or national-level boxing fights are held for women in Pakistan.

The organizers have started up a sister program in another neighborhood in north Karachi, so the girls in Lyari may have someone to compete against in inter-club fights.

The camp is not being held in a playground or sports field, but in a small, under-construction building with just one floor, naked light bulbs, no fans or bathrooms. However, it is ideal — even with the constant hammering and drilling — as it gives the girls a closed off space to train within, away from prying eyes.

Come forward and support Pakistan’s first All-Girl Boxing Club. Help these girls fight on an international level and make Pakistan proud.