This archive report was first published on 6 January 2022.
January 6, 2022, Najaf, Iraq - Bushra al-Hajjar, a 35-year-old boxing instructor, is a trailblazer in Iraq's conservative society. She has been teaching women's boxing in Najaf, a city in southern Iraq, for years, and her students are determined to break down gender barriers.
Al-Hajjar's journey began when she won a gold medal in the 70-kilogram category at a boxing tournament in Baghdad in December. Her family and friends were supportive, but she acknowledges that her adventure has raised eyebrows in a society that is still conservative.
'We've come across many difficulties,' she said. 'We're a conservative society that has difficulty accepting these kinds of things.'
Despite the challenges, al-Hajjar's students are undeterred. Ola Mustafa, a 16-year-old boxing student, said: 'We live in a macho society that opposes success for women.' However, she added that she has the support of her trainer, her parents, and her brother, signaling that social change is afoot.
'People are gradually beginning to accept it,' she said. 'If more girls try it out, society will automatically come to accept it.'
The Iraqi boxing federation president, Ali Taklif, acknowledged that women's boxing is a 'recent phenomenon' in Iraq, but said it is gaining ground. He added that there is a lot of demand from females wanting to join, and that Iraq now has some 20 women's boxing clubs.
More than 100 women boxers have competed in a December tournament, in all categories, he added. However, he also noted that the discipline suffers from a lack of infrastructure, training facilities, and equipment.
Al-Hajjar's family is also supportive of her passion for boxing. Her father, a veteran professional boxer, encouraged his children to follow in his footsteps. Both her sisters and older brother Ali are also boxers.
'Our father supports us more than the state does,' said Ali in their hometown of Amara in southwestern Iraq.
The father, Hassanein Ghazi, a 55-year-old truck driver who won several medals in his heyday, insisted: 'Women have the right to play sports, it's only normal.'
