Several Ethiopian schoolgirls dressed in jeans, sweatpants, and abayas practised the art of skateboarding, breaking all taboos. Although there are numerous skateboarding communities in the country, they are mostly dominated by men. With experience and time, female skateboarders have developed skills to cope with criticism and avoidable injuries that the sport entails.

Some of the girls in Ethiopian Girl Skaters, an all-female group founded by Sosina Challa and Micky Asfaw, have girls as young as six years old in the group. They regularly practise mastering the sport. While some carefully advance a few metres while holding their friends’ hands for support, others sprint across ramps and concrete humps.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/320-people-killed-in-ethiopian-gun-attack-witnesses-claim-490079">320 people killed in Ethiopian gun attack, witnesses claim</a>

Challa, in conversation with AFP, said that she founded the group in order to empower young and passionate women who find it difficult to participate in extreme sports due to Ethiopia’s view of girls, to say some, and help their parents. She further stated that since the time group was founded in December 2020, she, along with other mentors, has taught skateboarding to nearly 150 girls.

Also read |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/ethiopia-vows-probe-into-gruesome-video-of-man-on-fire-461681">Ethiopia vows probe into gruesome video of man on fire</a>

Another skateboarder named Hanas, a 22-year-old girl, said that it’s not common for girls in the country to start skateboarding because not many people support the idea. She said, "But somebody had to be the first, some group had to start and we were the first one and I feel honoured to be part of that."

Iman Mahmud, after 18 months of training, said that she no longer cares about what other people think about her being a girl and taking part in such sports activities. She said, "It helped me defeat my fears. I just enjoy it. It makes me happy."&nbsp;

(With inputs from agencies)

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Several Ethiopian schoolgirls dressed in jeans, sweatpants, and abayas practised the art of skateboarding, breaking all taboos. Although there are numerous skateboarding communities in the country, they are mostly dominated by men.

Several Ethiopian schoolgirls dressed in jeans, sweatpants, and abayas practised the art of skateboarding, breaking all taboos. Although there are numerous skateboarding communities in the country, they are mostly dominated by men. With experience and time, female skateboarders have developed skills to cope with criticism and avoidable injuries that the sport entails. Some of the girls in Ethiopian Girl Skaters, an all-female group founded by Sosina Challa and Micky Asfaw, have girls as young as six years old in the group. They regularly practise mastering the sport. While some carefully advance a few metres while holding their friends’ hands for support, others sprint across ramps and concrete humps. Also read | 320 people killed in Ethiopian gun attack, witnesses claim Challa, in conversation with AFP, said that she founded the group in order to empower young and passionate women who find it difficult to participate in extreme sports due to Ethiopia’s view of girls, to say some, and help their parents. She further stated that since the time group was founded in December 2020, she, along with other mentors, has taught skateboarding to nearly 150 girls. Also read | Ethiopia vows probe into gruesome video of man on fire Another skateboarder named Hanas, a 22-year-old girl, said that it’s not common for girls in the country to start skateboarding because not many people support the idea. She said, "But somebody had to be the first, some group had to start and we were the first one and I feel honoured to be part of that." Iman Mahmud, after 18 months of training, said that she no longer cares about what other people think about her being a girl and taking part in such sports activities. She said, "It helped me defeat my fears. I just enjoy it. It makes me happy." (With inputs from agencies) WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

'It makes us happy': Group of Ethiopian girls finds joy in skateboarding despite criticism

Ukrainian activist Anastasiya Melnychenko&#39;s campaign to shatter taboos over rape opened floodgates in her homeland and neighbouring Russia recently. It was yet another online discussion blaming a rape victim for provoking her attacker that prompted her courageous move.&nbsp; 
 
In response Melnychenko typed out an unflinching account of a string of sexual assaults she suffered throughout her life, then posted it on Facebook with the hashtag #IAmNotAfraidToSpeak, later repeated in Ukrainian and Russian. 
 
Melnychenko&#39;s campaign lead hundreds of women in Ukraine and Russia to share their own personal stories of sexual violence, a subject that is more often hushed up or ignored.&nbsp;For many of the women, it was a powerful way to release pent-up painful memories. 
 
&quot;I was a schoolgirl&nbsp;when it happened. A young guy followed me to my house, pulled me by the jacket and put his hands up my skirt&quot;, wrote 30-year-old art critic Asia Bazdyrieva. 
 
&quot;I was 19, it was my boyfriend&#39;s pal. He was two metres (six foot five) tall, very big and strong. The street was completely empty and I was afraid to resist. He raped me,&quot; posted mother-of-four Valeriya Bezlepkina. 
 
&quot;I was a young girl with freckles from a poor district. Violence was a common thing there, familiar to every girl I knew&quot;, shared famous restaurant critic Aurora Ogorodnyk. 
 
Melnychenko&#39;s openness helped to break down a wall of silence that activists say exists around the issue of sexual violence - and especially rape - in the ex-Soviet region. 
 
&quot;In our society blaming the victim is the norm,&quot; Melnychenko shared. 
 
&quot;That is why women are silent about the abuse. They do not talk about these incidents to their relatives or to the police because they are afraid of being condemned.&quot; 
 
&#39;Violence loves secrecy&#39;&nbsp; 
 
In Ukraine - a country of some 45 million inhabitants - only around 320 cases of rape or attempted rape were registered by the authorities last year. 
 
Rights activists insist that the small number of reported attacks does not represent the true scale of the problem.&nbsp;&quot;Sexual violence is a subject that gets disregarded&quot;, says Anna Sayenko, a lawyer from La Strada Ukraine, an international women&#39;s rights centre.&nbsp;In most cases women do not immediately go to a police station for a forensic examination due to fears of being judged by society, Sayenko said. 
 
Psychologist Alevtyna Shevchenko says such sharing of experiences works as a sort of group therapy, where the interaction between the participants encourages even those who are usually silent to talk. 
 
&#39;Brave pioneers&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Not all reaction to the campaign has been positive, however. 
 
Some online commentators, mainly men, accused the participants of &quot;exhibitionism&quot; and performing a &quot;public striptease&quot;, with one labelling the campaign a &quot;festival of homemade porn&quot;. 
 
But broadly speaking the response appears to have been supportive and a Ukrainian lawmaker on Tuesday said that deputies were already collecting signatures to change legislation on sexual violence against women after reading the posts. 
 
Melnychenko hopes that she and the women who have come forward with their experience -- especially those who spoke about being raped - have sparked a shift in the discussion that will bring about a real change in Ukraine. 
 
&quot;Public debate is a big step for our society,&quot; she said. 
 
&quot;Thanks to these brave pioneers, other women have realised that they are not alone and they have more support than they thought.&quot; 
 
By breaking through the fear of how people will react, Melnychenko&#39;s online campaign appears to have struck a deep chord with women in both Ukraine and Russia. 
 
(AFP) 
&nbsp;

Yet another online discussion blaming a rape victim for having provoked her attacker prompted her to start

Ukrainian activist Anastasiya Melnychenko's campaign to shatter taboos over rape opened floodgates in her homeland and neighbouring Russia recently. It was yet another online discussion blaming a rape victim for provoking her attacker that prompted her courageous move. In response Melnychenko typed out an unflinching account of a string of sexual assaults she suffered throughout her life, then posted it on Facebook with the hashtag #IAmNotAfraidToSpeak, later repeated in Ukrainian and Russian. Melnychenko's campaign lead hundreds of women in Ukraine and Russia to share their own personal stories of sexual violence, a subject that is more often hushed up or ignored. For many of the women, it was a powerful way to release pent-up painful memories. "I was a schoolgirl when it happened. A young guy followed me to my house, pulled me by the jacket and put his hands up my skirt", wrote 30-year-old art critic Asia Bazdyrieva. "I was 19, it was my boyfriend's pal. He was two metres (six foot five) tall, very big and strong. The street was completely empty and I was afraid to resist. He raped me," posted mother-of-four Valeriya Bezlepkina. "I was a young girl with freckles from a poor district. Violence was a common thing there, familiar to every girl I knew", shared famous restaurant critic Aurora Ogorodnyk. Melnychenko's openness helped to break down a wall of silence that activists say exists around the issue of sexual violence - and especially rape - in the ex-Soviet region. "In our society blaming the victim is the norm," Melnychenko shared. "That is why women are silent about the abuse. They do not talk about these incidents to their relatives or to the police because they are afraid of being condemned." 'Violence loves secrecy' In Ukraine - a country of some 45 million inhabitants - only around 320 cases of rape or attempted rape were registered by the authorities last year. Rights activists insist that the small number of reported attacks does not represent the true scale of the problem. "Sexual violence is a subject that gets disregarded", says Anna Sayenko, a lawyer from La Strada Ukraine, an international women's rights centre. In most cases women do not immediately go to a police station for a forensic examination due to fears of being judged by society, Sayenko said. Psychologist Alevtyna Shevchenko says such sharing of experiences works as a sort of group therapy, where the interaction between the participants encourages even those who are usually silent to talk. 'Brave pioneers' Not all reaction to the campaign has been positive, however. Some online commentators, mainly men, accused the participants of "exhibitionism" and performing a "public striptease", with one labelling the campaign a "festival of homemade porn". But broadly speaking the response appears to have been supportive and a Ukrainian lawmaker on Tuesday said that deputies were already collecting signatures to change legislation on sexual violence against women after reading the posts. Melnychenko hopes that she and the women who have come forward with their experience -- especially those who spoke about being raped - have sparked a shift in the discussion that will bring about a real change in Ukraine. "Public debate is a big step for our society," she said. "Thanks to these brave pioneers, other women have realised that they are not alone and they have more support than they thought." By breaking through the fear of how people will react, Melnychenko's online campaign appears to have struck a deep chord with women in both Ukraine and Russia. (AFP)

Ukrainian activist talks about rape on Facebook, and floodgates open

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'It makes us happy': Group of Ethiopian girls finds joy in skateboarding despite criticism

Ukrainian activist talks about rape on Facebook, and floodgates open