Pakistan’s Hazara women turn to Chinese martial arts for self-defence despite cultural norms

Hundreds of Pakistani Hazara women are defying cultural norms to learn how to deliver sidekicks and elbow blows to defend themselves using Chinese martial arts. In the conservative Muslim-majority nation, sporting activities for women are relatively far less common than they are for men. But female participation in disciplines such as kung fu has boomed after several martial arts champions have emerged over the past decade from the marginalised Hazara community in the southwestern city of Quetta.