Empowering Bahraini women and students through boxing

TDT | Manama                                                               

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Reported by Zahra Ayaz  

Learning to box can be a great way for Bahraini women to improve their physical fitness, build strength and endurance, and develop self-defense skills, says a leading fitness coach.

Boxing can help promote mental wellness by reducing stress and anxiety, increasing self-confidence and self-esteem, and providing a sense of empowerment and control. The Daily Tribune contacted female fitness instructors and inquired about the Kingdom’s participation in promoting such sports activities for women.

They responded, "Bahrain is taking steps to encourage women’s participation in sports, including boxing, by promoting opportunities for women to participate in traditionally male-dominated sports."

By providing access to sports like boxing and encouraging students to participate, the Kingdom is helping to create a more inclusive and diverse society. "Overall, it’s important for women to have the opportunity to learn boxing and other forms of martial arts if they choose to do so."

The Daily Tribune has learned that, as part of Bahrain’s commitment to supporting women in sports, the College of Administrative and Financial Sciences at Al-Ahlia University also organised an introduction session on boxing for women.

In an exclusive interview with Manal Al Zayani, Chief Fitness Coach at The BurnBox, she said: "Women can learn boxing for a variety of reasons beyond just self-defence." While self-defence is certainly one potential benefit of learning boxing, there are many other reasons why women might choose to take up the sport.

"For instance, boxing can be a great form of exercise that helps improve cardiovascular health, build strength and endurance, and improve overall fitness. It can also be a fun and engaging way to relieve stress and blow off steam."

She highlighted that encouraging students, especially girls, to take initiative and explore sports like boxing can have numerous benefits. "By participating in sports, students can improve their physical fitness, develop teamwork and leadership skills, and build self-confidence and self-esteem."

"In addition, learning boxing can help develop self-defence skills, which can be especially important for girls and women in this era," she said. Manal said that physically, boxing can be a vigorous form of exercise that can help improve cardiovascular health, build strength and endurance, and promote weight loss.

Boxing can also improve hand-eye coordination, balance, and agility. Meanwhile, she also pointed out that, mentally, boxing can be a great way to relieve stress and anxiety and improve overall mood and wellbeing.