The First Self-Defense Studio in the Middle East that Teaches Women to Fight Back

““A female boxer was tired of women in the Middle East being told they had to accept violence and abuse – and now, thanks to her, they can stand up for themselves.

That’s because SheFighter, an exclusively female martial arts studio in Jordan, is the first Middle Eastern organization that teaches women how to defend themselves.

Lina Khalifeh is the founder of SheFighter – and she says that when she first began the company, it mostly consisted of her and a few of her students in her parent’s basement. She eventually started partnering with local gyms in the area in order to host classes. Then, in 2012, she opened her own studio in Amman Jordan.

Now, the organization has expanded to include 5,000 students of all ages and at least a dozen trainers. The center hosts classes for Syrian refugees, and SheFighter will soon be opening more locations in Saudi Arabia and possibly Kuwait, according to PRI.

The studio gives lessons in taekwondo, boxing, kung fu, and regular boxing, as well as psychological sessions and counseling.””
     — McKinley Corbley

Tags: clipping ∙ McKinley Corbley ∙ women ∙ Middle East ∙ violence ∙ abuse ∙ SheFighter ∙ martial arts studio ∙ Jordan ∙ defend ∙ Lina Khalifeh ∙ Amman ∙ taekwondo ∙ boxing ∙ kung fu ∙ counseling