Asian Geographic 2017

The Wushu Warriors

AfghAnistAn

In a viral video clip reminiscent of a

scene from Tarantino’s Kill Bill, 20-year-

old wushu teacher Sima Azimi, sporting

a striking black and yellow satin

karategi, leads her class of women

trainees in their wushu workout on a

snow-splattered hilltop outside Kabul

in Afghanistan.

Donning pink uniforms – designed

by a local tailor – with white hijabs,

these young Hazara women, a mostly

Shia group who speak Dari, are giving a

roundhouse kick to gender stereotypes

by practising this ancient form of kung

fu, developed by the flying monks of

the Shaolin Temple in northern China.

This full-contact sport combines

kick-boxing and sword fighting –

with sabres and daggers.

Azimi is Afghanistan’s first woman

trainer in wushu, which she learnt

while living as a refugee in Iran.

She has earned several medals in

competitions, and aspires for her

students to do the same: “My ambition

is to see my students take part in

international matches and win medals

for their country,” she told the BBC.

Azimi believes that girls can compete

on an equal footing with boys.

But while martial arts have gained

immense popularity in Afghanistan,

women are still restricted from

learning and practising them. “Some

of my students’ families had problems

accepting their girls studying wushu,”

she says. “But I went to their homes

and talked to their parents.”

“There are people who might

oppose women improving themselves.

But I love to fight against such stupidity

and train in wushu,” she challenges.

Th e New Frontier

CULTURAL STEREOTYPES ARE BEING CHALLENGED BY MEN

AND WOMEN IN ASIA – FROM EAST TO WEST Text Alex Campbell

IMAGE BY GETTY IMAGES

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