Anita Karim: Pakistani Woman in MMA, Inspiring Women in Her Country

TaiwanPlus News

A female mixed martial artist from Pakistan is the first from her country to climb to the top of the sport. Fighting for ONE Championship, Anita Karim has taken on a leadership role for women in her deeply conservative, Muslim-majority country.

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00:00It's a bit of a cliche, but like many top mixed martial artists, Anita Karim was blooded

00:05as a child, brawling with her three older brothers in a rugged, remote part of the world.

00:11What sets her apart is becoming Pakistan's first professional female cage fighter.

00:16She competes in one championship, Asia's biggest MMA promotion.

00:20Karim's known as the arm collector, and it's a nickname she's earned.

00:25So we have like a Brazilian jiu-jitsu competition, it's have like rules.

00:30If you got the lock or something, like choke, you have to tape.

00:34So like the girls like didn't tape, so she think she gonna be like get out from there,

00:41but cannot.

00:42And I had like broke the arm girls, so they call arm collector.

00:47Anita Karim spent years training in taekwondo and jiu-jitsu before discovering her true

00:51calling in mixed martial arts.

00:53A sport combining striking and grappling.

00:56It's an exceedingly rare pursuit for women in Pakistan, a deeply conservative Muslim

01:01majority country.

01:02Her brother, now her coach, knows the cultural challenges all too well.

01:08In a culture like this, when you are in Pakistan and there's people full of different kind

01:14of stereotypes and taboos, training your own sister puts a big question mark on your forehead.

01:20You know, especially when she's competing on such a platform where you cannot not follow

01:27the rules of the, you know, you cannot not follow the dress code.

01:30Dividing her time training at a family-owned gym in Islamabad and a camp in Thailand, Anita

01:35Karim refines her best technique, a key lock from scarf hold.

01:39At her current level, she's aiming to beat the best in the world with a skill set that's

01:43already proven effective against the average creep on the street.

01:47In the evening, my mom's call me, so I like pick the phone and I was talking with my mom

01:53and some guy like tried to, some person actually, he tried to like harass me, like street harassment.

01:59He tried to touch me and then I just throw my phone and I run like all five minutes and

02:05I just catch him and I beat him on the, and he had like a lot of like, you know, blood

02:09on his face and everything.

02:12Anita Karim is one of more than 80 percent of Pakistani women who faced public harassment

02:17according to the UN.

02:19Though normally timid outside the ring, she has made it her mission to empower the women

02:22of her country, stepping into a leadership role.

02:25Whenever she returns from competing abroad, small groups of fans gather at the airport

02:29to greet her.

02:31Her efforts have already inspired at least five other female MMA fighters from her home

02:35region of Gilgit-Baltistan.

02:36You know, because she has competed at the highest level in Pakistan at least, so we

02:43all girls look up to her because, you know, like definitely she's one of the best fighters

02:50and she's definitely the best fighter in Pakistan.

02:54Starting from a small village and reaching the world stage, Anita Karim is determined

02:58to push forward with her MMA dreams.

03:01Having beaten her brothers, top fighters, and societal prejudice, she's become a symbol

03:06of female empowerment in Pakistan.

03:09Andy Sher and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.

03:13www.taiwanplus.com

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