Afghan girls punch their way to equality

Good luck to these girls...hope they make it to the Olympics!

http://worldblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/20/9582548-afghan-girls-punch-their-way-to-equality

...........It is impossible to forget the dark history of this arena, but Mohammed Sabher Sharifi is determined to move on.

"There were many people killed, especially women. Now it is for the young generation of sportsmen, especially the females,” Sharifi said Sunday as he pointed toward an Olympic flag which stands next to the Afghan flag and will remain there until the 2012 games.

As a member of the Afghan National Olympic committee and coach of the women's boxing team, Sharifi faces a daunting task. He wants to create a winning team of female boxers.
------

The stars of the team are the Rahimi sisters – 18-year-old Shabnam and 17-year-old Sadaf. At the recent World Boxing Championship in Tajikistan, Shabnam won a gold medal and Sadaf a silver medal, making Afghan sports history.

Boxing is an unusual choice for any young woman, anywhere in the world, but in deeply conservative Afghanistan, it is an act of courage.

Teenage girl from Afghanistan to box at Olympics

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/sports/2012/...ox-at-olympics/?intcmp=obinsite#ixzz1mOvEXrKS

KABUL, Afghanistan – Besides going after a medal in the boxing ring at the London Olympics, Sadaf Rahimi will be taking a few punches in the fight for equal rights for Afghan women.

There are female Afghan success stories, yet most women in Afghanistan remain second-class citizens, many cloaked from head-to-toe in blue burqas, some abused or hidden in their homes.

Rahimi, a determined 17-year-old student, wants to become the new face of Afghan women, gaining honor and dignity for herself and other women in her war-torn country and improving their image worldwide.

She will get her chance this summer in London, where women's boxing makes its Olympic debut.
------

"I am well aware that my opponents in the London 2012 Olympics are more powerful and even twice as good as me, but I have prepared myself to participate and win a medal," said Rahimi, who started boxing four years ago and won a silver medal during a boxing competition in Tajikistan.


More at link....