African Games boxing medallist helping empower women in Uganda Sunday, 10 January 2021
African Games boxing bronze medallist Hellen Baleke is using her skills to empower women in her native Uganda by teaching them how to defend themselves.
Baleke is teaching women in Katanga, one of the most populated areas in Uganda’s capital city Kampala, the importance of self-defence.
Innocent Kapalata, the coach at Katanga’s Rhino Boxing Club where Baleke teaches and trains, revealed that more and more women are interested in learning how to defend themselves following an upsurge in violent crimes.
Baleke took up boxing after being groped and attacked when she was only 16.
How a Ugandan Boxing Champion Is Empowering Women to Stand Up for Themselves
Baleke’s own experience of assault drove her to become a professional boxer.
Why Global Citizens Should Care
Women and girls living in poverty are often more susceptible to gender-based violence, but teaching them to defend and financially empower themselves has the potential to protect them from such dangers. The United Nations’ Global Goal 5 calls for gender equality and this can only be achieved if the protection of women from violence is prioritised. Join the movement and take action on this issue here.
One of Uganda’s most accomplished female boxers, Hellen Baleke, is using her skills in the ring to teach women to empower and defend themselves.