Ethiopian girls break taboos and find joy in skateboarding

Ethiopian girls break taboos and find joy in skateboarding

Since the group was founded, more than 150 girls have learnt how to skate
Since the group was founded, more than 150 girls have learnt how to skate. Photo: EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP
Source: AFP

Dressed in jeans, sweatpants and abayas, dozens of Ethiopian schoolgirls practise the art of nailing a landing and finding their balance -- and their confidence -- as they zip across a skatepark in Addis Ababa.

Some gingerly slide forward a few metres, holding a friend's hand for support, while others zoom across ramps and concrete bumps at full speed.

Every Saturday, the group meets in the Ethiopian capital to acquire new tricks and master old ones
Every Saturday, the group meets in the Ethiopian capital to acquire new tricks and master old ones. Photo: EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP
Source: AFP

Members of Ethiopian Girl Skaters, an all-female group set up by skateboarders Sosina Challa and Micky Asfaw, the girls -- some as young as six -- are pushing back against gender stereotypes and having fun doing it.

Challa, 24, told AFP she set up the organisation to empower young women, who often struggle to take up extreme sports because of a commonly-held belief in Ethiopia that "girls should stay home and help their parents".

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Sosina Challa told AFP she set up the organisation to empower young women
Sosina Challa told AFP she set up the organisation to empower young women. Photo: EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP
Source: AFP

Since she co-founded the group in December 2020, she and the other mentors in the organisation have taught more than 150 girls how to skate.

Hanna Bless, a 22-year-old stylist who started skateboarding two years ago, told AFP: "It's not really common for a girl to start skating because people don't support you.

"But somebody had to be the first, some group had to start and we were the first one and I feel honoured to be part of that," she added.

Iman Mahamud, 17, told AFP that skating had helped her defeat her fears
Iman Mahamud, 17, told AFP that skating had helped her defeat her fears. Photo: EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP
Source: AFP

Although Ethiopia is home to many skateboarding groups, they are largely dominated by male skaters.

With time, the women skateboarders have learned to cope not just with the inevitable bruises the sport brings but also the criticism from naysayers.

Iman Mahamud, 17, told AFP that after 18 months of lessons, she no longer cared about "what people say about me being a girl and doing such stuff".

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"It helped me defeat my fears," she said.

"I just enjoy it. It makes me happy."

Source: AFP

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