Boxing champion rings the bell on violence against women with self-defence classes
Super Flyweight World Champion boxer Tasif Khan climbed into the ring to run women-only self-defence classes in support of the United Nations' 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence campaign, which runs until December 10.
The event was organised by the University of Bradford’s Social Justice Society and held at the university’s on-campus Unique Fitness sports centre.
Bradford-born Tasif, who has a number of professional titles to his name, met with Master’s student Alaa Abdullah, who graduated on December 5 with a Master’s in cancer drug discovery, and first-year counselling student Nimra Hassan, from Kirklees College, who was visiting the event.
Self defence
Tasif said: “We need speak up about violence against women. My father brought us up to respect women and I’m happy to support anything that gives weight to that message. I think there is still a lot of work to be done, so speaking about this is important, because it enables women to be part of a wider network and gain knowledge and my philosophy has always been that knowledge is power.”
Tasif received an honorary doctorate from the University in 2021.
Alaa Abudullah (wearing pink gloves), said: “My father raised me to be a strong woman and not be afraid to speak out. I think violence against women is something we should always be aware of and speak out about.”
Nimra Hassan (red gloves) said: “There is still a lot of domestic violence against women. Many women are subject to controls on where they go and what they wear, what their ambitions are, and they are constantly judged.”
Social Justice Society President Samea Mehboob said: “We’re proud to be taking part in the UN’s 16 Days of Activism to raise awareness of violence against women. This is the first time this has taken place in Bradford and we are really pleased it has been supported by people like Tasif and also rugby player Ikram Butt, both of whom attended campus to deliver talks.”