Sima Azimi is Afghanistan’s first female Wushu trainer. She became interested in Wushu after watching martial arts movies as a kid and acquired her skills while living as a refugee in Iran. Now, Azimi hopes to pass on her slaying capabilities to the next generation of Afghanistan’s young women.

In late January, a group of young women aged 14 to 20 gathered on a snowy hilltop overlooking Kabul, Afghanistan, where they meet each week no matter the weather. Teen girls wielding silver swords moved rhythmically through space. Donning matching pink robes and white hijab, they gathered before their teacher Sima Azimi to train in the ancient Chinese martial art form known as Wushu. 

In most Afghan communities, sports are strictly off-limits for women. Azimi’s students, however, belong to the Hazara community, a Persian-speaking faction of Shi’ites whose social views lean liberal, thus allowing women to practice athletics outside the home.