Why Sports?

Sport can be a powerful platform to break the cycle of violence and the gender stereotypes that undermine the development of women and girls. Sport promotes cooperation and creativity, attracts positive energy, breaks deadlocks and develops innate talents and skills. Sports contribute to building a range of individual and collective skills that are crucial to the realization of the Sustainable Development agenda:

• At the individual level, it contributes to enhance confidence, resilience, social competence, autonomy, and optimism

• As a community, it strengthens essential life skills such as teamwork, cooperation, problem solving through communication and relationship

But sport also does something else – it helps draw vulnerable adolescents, young people and women to programmes where they can receive critical information and services. The protection, well-being and development of vulnerable adolescents, young people and women can only be achieved through their meaningful involvement. When given meaningful opportunities to participate, they have an incredible ability to use their energy and creativity to initiate positive change in their lives and communities. The more they engage with their society, the greater their ability to influence in turn decisions, policy change, and social values and structures.

Why Martial Arts and Self-Defense?

Martial arts, specifically, can play a critical role in preventing gender-based violence. Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; and the preservation of a nation's intangible cultural heritage.

It can impart self-defense skills and enable women to avoid, interrupt, and resist assault. This is against the misunderstandings, gender stereotyping views, and individualistic assumptions about the training. Guardian Girls, therefore, aims to empower girls and young women to defend themselves from all forms of GBV (sexual, physical, emotional, harmful practices, economic abuse, and trafficking) through this sport.